FAA Extends Exising Allocation of Slots at LaGuardia Airport

WASHINGTON - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Administrator Jane F. Garvey today announced a two-year
extension of the existing lottery allocation of slot exemptions at
New York's LaGuardia Airport until Oct. 31, 2004. In addition,
today's announcement asks for public comment on proposed
changes to the current allocation procedures for allocating current
slot exemptions that are either returned or have gone unused.

Extension of the current lottery allocations at LaGuardia, set to
expire on October 26, 2002 will provide additional time for the
agency to identify and make the transition to longer-term demand
management solutions at the airport. The FAA called for public
comment within 30 days on changes to the slot exemption
process in a Federal Register published today. These proposed
changes in the allocation process are aimed at maintaining the
statutory balance between operations used by new entrant carriers
and those used to provide service to small-hub and non-hub
airports.

"The FAA is committed to developing a long-term solution that will
address delays and capacity at LaGuardia," said Garvey. "The
issues are complex and the FAA will ensure that any proposed
changes will address all operational requirements as well as
concerns by the flying public, local communities, and industry."

At certain congested airports including LaGuardia, airlines must
obtain a "slot" - an authority to land or take off. The Aviation
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), which
took effect in April 2000, exempted new-entrant airlines and those
serving small communities to operate at LaGuardia, as well as to
New York's John F. Kennedy and Chicago's O'Hare Airports from
this requirement. This law also began a full phase-out of slot
limitations at the three airports, which had been in place since
1969 under the FAA's High Density Rule.

In December 2000, based on significant rise in air carrier delays
as a result of the increase in operations performed without a slot,
the FAA limited the number of AIR-21 slot exemptions to 159 per
day and reallocated them via a lottery. The total number of these
(scheduled arrivals and departures) was limited to 75 per hour,
effective Jan. 31 to Sept. 15, 2001. By Spring 2001, delays had
decreased dramatically at LaGuardia.

During the first 90 days of the December 2000 operational limits,
LaGuardia delays were down from about approximately 8,000 per
month to 3,000 - more than a 60 percent decrease. LaGuardia
now accounts for about 8 percent of the air traffic delays for the
nation's entire airspace system. Before the lottery, delays at
LaGuardia accounted for 25 percent of the nation's total.

In August 2001, the FAA extended the lottery allocation through
Oct. 25, 2002, and established procedures for subsequent
allocation of slot exemptions in the event that any slot was
returned or withdrawn from the FAA for non-use.

For the long-term, the FAA issued a notice in the Federal Register
on June 12, 2001, seeking comment on several policy options.
Both administrative and market-based approaches were put
forward. The comment period closed on June 20, 2002, and FAA
is currently reviewing the comments that were received.

Market-based options would allocate capacity among air carriers
based on an operator's willingness to pay. Congestion pricing and
an auction of landing and take-off rights are under consideration.
Administrative options include proposals to encourage the use of
larger aircraft and a new rule similar to the High Density Rule with
a provision for incentives for more service to small communities
and new air carrier entrants.