Letters to the Editor
-
Re: It Can Be Done?
Writes East2West,
>>> At Reagan Washington National Airport, for example, the airport is operating at flight capacity, or very near it, and there are currently limitations on the number of flight slots available.<<<
Right, and Reagan National is a total nightmare. 90 minute ground stops in clear weather. Same at LGA, which is slot controlled. Same at JKF, also slot controlled.
The slot idea is somewhat useful, but it is not implemented properly. For one thing, slot programs only work if all flights are leaving and arriving exactly on time; otherwise, the slots from the previous hour carry into the next hour, and a backlog starts to build. You end up with the same mess you'd have at any airport, regardless of slot assignments.
You would need to reduce the number of available slots during and around peak hours -- and that would not be an easy measure to push through. Adjusting landing fees based on aircraft size is another commonly submitted idea, but as I mentioned in an earlier column, with fares so low carriers can, at least for now, pass along the extra cost in order to keep their RJs in the mix.
Patrick Smith