Fact Sheet: Lottery of Slot Allocations at LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

Background

· A "slot" is a landing or take-off at an airport.

· Under the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st
Century (AIR-21), which took effect in April 2000, new-entrant
airlines and those serving small communities were granted
exemptions to slot limitations at LaGuardia, as well as to New
York's John F. Kennedy, and Chicago's O'Hare airports, providing
significant levels of new access to the facilities. This provision
began a phase-out of slot limitations at the three airports, which
had been in place since 1969 under the Federal Aviation
Administration's (FAA's) High Density Rule.

·In December 2000, based on significant increases in air carrier
delays as a result of excessive demand at LaGuardia, the FAA
limited the number of AIR-21 slot exemptions to 159 per day and
reallocated these exemptions via lottery. The total number of
scheduled arrivals and departures was limited to 75 per hour,
effective Jan. 31 through Sept. 15, 2001. By Spring 2001, delays
decreased dramatically.

·During the first 90 days of the new operational limits, LaGuardia
delays were down from about 8,000 per month to 3,000--more than
a 60 percent decrease. LaGuardia now accounts for about one out
of 10 air traffic delays for the entire system. Before the lottery,
delays at LaGuardia accounted for 25 percent of the nation's total.

Initial Proposal

· The lottery extension outlined in the June 12, 2001, Federal
Register Notice proposed to maintain the current slot lottery
allocation that took effect on Jan. 31, 2001, and to conduct a
second lottery to allocate certain other available slot exemption
times.

·At the time that the notice was issued, there were 14 exemption
slots available for reallocation. Subsequent to that date, five
additional slot exemptions have been returned to the FAA for a
total of 19 slot exemptions available for reallocation by lottery.
The returned slot exemptions correspond to the following time
periods: 0700 (2), 0800 (1), 0900 (1), 1200 (1), 1300 (1), 1400 (1),
1700 (1), 1800 (1), and 2100 (10).

·The proposal limited participation to new entrant carriers that did
not participate in the Dec. 4, 2000, lottery or new entrant carriers
that were unable to select up to four exemption slots during the
first round of that lottery. During this first round, a new entrant
would be allowed to select up to four slot exemptions and be
allowed to specify which hours of the day it would like to operate
these slot exemptions. These airlines were subject to the
constraint that certain hours of the day are oversubscribed and
have been blocked out by the FAA. Any slot exemption not
selected by a new entrant in the first round would be offered to
eligible incumbent carriers serving small communities. Each
carrier could select up to two slot exemptions and operate them
only at the designated times.

·The two-round lottery procedure was intended to maintain the
same general balance of slot exemptions for new entrants and
service to small communities that resulted from the Dec. 4, 2000,
lottery. Immediately following that lottery, new entrants held 79
slot exemptions and incumbents servicing small communities held
80 slot exemptions.

·Any slot exemptions returned to the FAA subsequent to the
second lottery will be reallocated to carriers serving small
communities.

Comments Received

·The Federal Register notice provided for a 30-day comment
period, which closed on July 12, 2001. A total of 23 comments
were filed in the docket. Comments were submitted from:

·Nine airlines (Vanguard, Continental, America West, American
Trans Air, Delta, USAirways, American, United and Spirit);

·Six associations (the Air Carrier Association of America, the
General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the National Air
Carrier Association, Inc., and the Air Transport Association of
America, the Airports Council International-North America, and the
New York State Aviation Management Association);

·The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JBT3
Enterprises,

·Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport;

·Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y.; and

·One individual.

·Generally, those who commented supported the proposed
allocation extension and lottery of available capacity, and
submitted additional considerations. In particular, new incumbent
airlines serving small communities supported the extension and
reallocation as written, while new entrants offered alternative
approaches to reallocate unused capacity primarily to new
entrants. For example, America West opposed the extension of
the lottery allocation but in the alternative offered some
modifications to the lottery procedures.

·Based on the comments received and FAA's experience with the
lottery allocation over the last year, the FAA will extend the
current lottery allocation until October 26, 2002, and conduct a
new lottery of other available slot exemptions. The new lottery will
be conducted on Aug. 15, 2001, in accordance with the procedures
described in the June 12, 2001, notice, with certain modifications.

FAA's Final Proposal

·First, the FAA finds it necessary to establish procedures for a
third round of the new lottery, in the event that there are remaining
slot exemptions after round two. Carriers eligible to participate in
round three are previous new entrants (i.e., carriers that gained
access to LGA as a result of the Dec. 4, 2000, lottery) that have
less than 20 slots and slot exemptions at the airport. Each
participant may select up to two slot exemptions and operate them
only at the designated times.

·Second, the FAA has also determined it is necessary to amend
the proposal to allocate any capacity that becomes available as a
result of slot exemptions returned to the FAA or withdrawn for
non-use subsequent to the August 15, 2001, lottery. As with the
lottery procedure, the procedure for allocation of newly available
slot exemptions after the lottery is designed to maintain a rough
balance in the distribution of slot exemptions used for new
entrants and for service to small communities, respectively. As
slots exemptions become available after August 15, 2001, they
will be first offered to any new entrant that does not operate at the
airport. Each new entrant may select up to four slot exemptions
and operate them only at the designated times. This provides an
opportunity for continued new entry growth over the next year.
Any remaining slot exemptions will be allocated, in alternating pairs
between carriers serving small communities and previous new
entrants that have less than 20 slots or slot exemptions. These
slots exemptions can only be used at the designated times.

Location of Second Lottery for a Limited Number of Slot
Exemptions at LGA

·The lottery will take place on Aug. 15, 2001, at 1:30 p.m., in the
FAA Auditorium, 3rd floor, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue, SW. in Washington.