European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Be Given to Large jetliners carrying hundreds of people. The Federal transportation department has called the action an interference with National Commerce and threatens to withhold Federal Airport funds if the fees Are not reversed. The Logan officials meanwhile Are standing firm and intend to fight the Dot ruling in court. The Faa is still trying to recover from the 1981 strike by air traffic controllers in which 11,400 were fired and had to be replaced by inexperienced recruits. While senior managers have drawn up new flight patterns and adopted a system of Central flow control to better manage airspace with fewer controllers problems persist. Only last fall controllers at Chicago s Busy o Hare International Airport began making errors so frequently that the Federal government ordered a Cut in flights. As a result the number of delays jumped. Furthermore the Agency s seven year focus on damage control and government wide budget constraints have delayed for several years the Long Range modernization of its air traffic control system. The overhauled system is now scheduled for completion in the late 1990s at a Cost of $16 billion to $24 billion. But Many airline executives complain that the capacity crunch is already Here. We tend to be making a conscious Effort to do everything possible to restrain the transportation system that lies at the Core of travel and tourism complains Robert Crandall chairman of american airlines. Problems with air traffic control and restrictions of various kinds already stifle Competition he argues. Today american can t compete with Eastern pan am or Donald Trump who recently bought the Eastern shuttle Between Washington and new York. We can t add flights to and from Chicago nor can we operate the ones we already have there with the slightest Assurance that they will either arrive or leave on time. Even in Nashville our flights often sit on the ground waiting for a Slot in the sky. The reality is we Are making air travel harder and harder rather than making it easier and the airlines for More than a year have warned of impending chaos. But a $15 million grass roots Campaign to persuade business and political leaders to push for new Airport capacity has so far produced Little. I Don t see a hell of a lot of difference Between our aviation problems a year ago and our aviation problems today except today they Are worse Crandall said at a recent Industry conference. The Industry is especially critical of the government s handling of the billions of dollars that Are collected each year through an 8 percent ticket tax. The Money goes into a special Trust fund but in recent years much More went in than has come out. The aviation Trust fund s surplus has grown to $6 billion a Reserve that its critics complain has helped the Reagan administration hide some of the Federal deficit. If the Trust fund were handled that Way by a private trustee complained Kelleher of Southwest he would have been indicted for misappropriation of an Effort to separate the aviation fund from the Overall Federal budget failed last year but the airlines have vowed to try again in the new Congress. But the airlines Are not free of fault either according to their critics. Most of the capacity problems that exist today As Well As Many of the problems envisioned for the years to come Stem largely from the strategies the airlines have devised under deregulation. Their concentration of flights at Hub airports has caused massive peaking of traffic in and out of cities such As Chicago Denver Atlanta and Dallas fort Worth. Since 70 percent or More of the passengers in Many cases Are Only passing through these airports Layover time is minimized and a Large number of planes must land and depart in a Short time. On the other hand airports at smaller cities often beg for More business. We Don t have a Lack of Airport capacity. We have a Lack of Airport capacity the Way we use it today argues Charles Barclay executive director of the american association of Airport executives a Trade group representing Airport managers. Barclay maintains that Many airports in mid sized cities Are underused and Are often ignored As possible hubs. Officials in Columbus Ohio have offered $30 million Over 10 years to any major airline that would Start a Hub there but there have been no takers he says. The airlines argue that they need significant local traffic to make a major Hub successful. Crowded conditions at Denver s Stapleton Airport led to plans for a new Airport for the City. Not As traffic increases Barclay predicts pressure will mount for carriers to seek out the smaller cities As Well. The airlines also have been criticized for not following up on their own rhetoric on the construction of new airports. They cite the example of the proposed Denver Airport. Planners foresee no fewer than 12 runways although half that Many would be built initially for the scheduled opening in the mid-1990s. But both United airlines and Continental airlines who Are the major carriers at Denver have walked arguing the plan is too grand too expensive and unneeded at this time especially in Light of the Region s economic downturn. Airports Are largely financed through the issuance of Bonds which Are paid off from fees assessed to the airlines. Continental claims the new Denver Airport would add $36 to the Price of a ticket compared to the $4 surcharge at the current Stapleton International Airport. Mayor Frederico Pena who has staked his political career on getting the Airport built makes no secret of his anger toward the airlines. Either we have a crisis in air transportation in this country or we Don the said. The irony of the airlines position in Denver has not been lost on Washington bureaucrats. Jim Burnley transportation Secretary under Ronald i have them of Ackelow i Over o Hare. 1wj l its off Ebbot. Reagan called the airlines stand in Denver As Well As the Industry s lukewarm attitude toward developing a third major Airport in the Chicago area irresponsible and hypocritical at a time when the Industry talks of a capacity crisis. It s time those who come to conferences in Washington and sound off about the perceived shortcomings of the Federal government in this area to get their own houses in order if they want to see capacity of the system grow in the years to come Burnley said in an interview. Spokesmen for both Continental and United insist the two airlines continue to favor construction of a new Denver Airport but the question is one of Cost. We d like to build one that we can afford and we d like to build it in the time Frame that we need Martin Shugrue president of Continental said in an interview. Airline reluctance to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a new Airport May be understandable suggest Industry analysts in Light of other costs facing the air carriers. As of last october . Scheduled air carriers had orders and options for 1,301 new aircraft Worth $59 billion and the airlines Are still ordering new jetliners according to airline economics inc. And there Are competitive questions that come into play at an Airport such As Denver where United and Continental dominate or Chicago where american and United Are supreme. If you own the Hub says Faa administrator Allan Mcartor you re not too interested in adding capacity so somebody can come in and share your nest. That s just a fact of that May be one reason Why the Industry has yet to develop a master plan As to where any new airports should be built. Gabe Philips executive vice president of the air transport association the airline Trade group says such a master plan would be difficult to get agreement on because of the costs involved. Nevertheless insist the airlines the greatest Barrier to the construction of new runways and airports is not the Industry but local opposition or the Nimby folks As they have been called. The not in my Back Yard philosophy is not Likely to go away soon says Henry Duffy president of the 40,000-member air line pilots association. And if new airports and runways Are not built Duffy predicts the government will have no Choice but to restrict traffic where there in t enough capacity. Well have de Facto re regulation whether we Call it re regulation or not Duffy says. The answer in the View of Many Industry executives is for the Federal government to become More aggressive in pushing for new airports or Airport expansion where the Lack of capacity is seen As impeding Commerce. Burnley Calls suggestions that a new runway or Airport might be forced on a Community As hopelessly naive and adds you re simply not going to be Able to politically run roughshod Over the rights of neighbors of airports. The Congress would not let us do sunday february 12, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17
