The Department of Transportation (DOT) will auction off a prized takeoff and landing slot at Newark International, as the first step in an experiment designed to ease nationwide travel delays caused by congestion in New York area airspace.
Additional slot auctions would follow at Newark and New York’s Kennedy International before the end of the year.
But the Air Transport Association (ATA), which represents the top U.S. air carriers, said it would sue to stop it. And DOT made the announcement a day after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the three New York City area airports, vowed to block the auction plan, in the courts or in the Congress.
The right to operate a single roundtrip flight at Newark Liberty Airport will be auctioned for a five-year lease on September 3.
Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said “this auction will allow us to implement market mechanisms on a small scale, gauge interest and determine a slot’s market value. The real winners in this auction will be consumers, who stand to benefit from more reliable air service that costs less in terms of both time and money. Market-based mechanisms are the best way to assure consumers will receive quality service at affordable prices, and we’ve proposed several measures that embrace these mechanisms.”
The two slots were to be allocated to Eos Airlines earlier this year, but the air carrier filed for bankruptcy, leaving the FAA with ownership of the valuable slots. The slot auction winner would be able to operate at Newark daily, arriving at 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. every day but Monday and Saturday, when the arrival would be from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m., and departing daily from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.
DOT said the funds generated from the auction will be used to reduce delays and enhance capacity at New York-area airports. The slot auction proposal is open to public comment through Aug. 18. After taking into consideration all comments on both the lease and the process, a final notice and invitation to bid will be published August 25 and the auction will take place on September 3.
ATA said: “We are extremely disappointed by the DOT’s auction announcement that completely ignores strong opposition from key members of Congress, the DOT’s own task force, including consumer groups on New York delays, and the Port Authority and airlines.
“DOT’s auction proposal is unlawful, unwise and will do absolutely nothing to reduce congestion and flight delays in New York. DOT has left us no options – we will sue to prevent this illegal action,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “Instead of providing the infrastructure that we all need, the DOT is trying to hide its failure behind an economics experiment to ration air service.”
ATA urges the DOT to push aggressively to redesign and streamline air traffic patterns in the New York and New Jersey region and begin deploying “NextGen” air traffic management. “Rather than distracting from these efforts with this economics experiment, it is time for action,” said May.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey gave notice that it had the authority to block slot auctions at its airports.
It has issued a ‘Notice of Proposed Action’ that disallow flight departure or arrival slots that are “issued by auction or similar process.” The Port Authority believes the federal government’s auction plan would have a severe negative impact on air travel and customers at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia airports, and would be illegal without Congressional authorization.
In issuing the notice, the Port Authority said the auction scheme would increase ticket prices by an estimated 12 percent while doing nothing to relieve or mitigate delays and congestion at the New York metropolitan area’s airports. Additionally, 25 small and medium-sized aviation markets would lose service to and from these airports, as auctions would heavily favor aircraft operating only between large markets.
The Port Authority said it will take public comment on its notice through August 18.