U.S. to let airports use fees to fight congestion

WASHINGTON - Congested airports nationwide could charge airlines landing fees based on arrival time and traffic instead of the plane's weight, according to a federal policy introduced this week.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said the policy would help airports reduce delays by encouraging airlines to spread their flights throughout the day.

Some analysts said that while the new fees would encourage competition among airports, consumers would foot the bill.

Airline arrival rates last year through November were the second-worst since comparable data began being collected in 1995, the Transportation Department said this month.

John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty - all operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - had the lowest on-time arrival rates. Aviation officials said delays there cascaded through the system, causing 75 percent of the nation's flight delays.

The new policy would encourage congested airports in the New York City area and elsewhere to include the costs of expansion in landing fees now rather than wait until construction is complete, Peters said.

All ticket prices - not just for passengers at peak travel times - would likely rise as carriers distribute the cost, predicted Terry Trippler, a travel expert who has had air fares on his radar for decades. Still, he welcomed the policy.

"It opens up competition among airports," Trippler said, adding that Philadelphia International Airport, for example, could try to attract business by not raising landing fees if New York City-area airports do.

The new policy would allow operators of multiple airports, such as the port authority, to distribute landing-fee revenue among its facilities, Peters said. But the port authority said the change was a minor fix for a major problem.

"The right solution is expanding capacity through 21st-century technologies, working with the airlines on more rational schedules and better customer service," the authority said in a statement.

Representatives from the Air Transport Association, which represents the largest airlines, were not available to comment when the policy was announced.

But the Airports Council International-North America, which represents airport owners and operators, lauded Peters for recognizing that "airport proprietors are in the best position to manage the use of the facilities they planned, financed, built and currently operate," president Greg Principato said in a release.

The policy, introduced Monday, will be open to public comment for 45 days before it is enacted. To avoid another summer of record delays, Peters last month said flight caps would begin in March at New York City-area airports.

JFK will be allowed 82 or 83 flights per hour at peak times, down from about 100 last summer. Similar caps, which already exist at LaGuardia, also will go into effect at Newark.

In its criticism of flight caps, the port authority has said it may raise ticket prices or force some travelers to fly at less convenient times.

Meanwhile, airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are pressing for a $15 billion satellite-based air-traffic control system to improve operations. In late August, the agency awarded ITT Corp. a contract worth up to $1.8 billion to build the first portion of the system, which will take nearly 20 years to complete.