New York airport slot auctions to be held soon

With many parties still in opposition to the government’s plan, the Bush administration is making final preparations for the auction of landing slots at the three major New York City area airports – Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark.

According to the federal government, the auction is a means of employing market principles, based on money, to ration what has become a commodity in short supply – landing rights at New York airports. Operations have already been capped at all three of the airports, in an effort to reduce the number of delays experienced by passengers.

Airlines, however, asserting that they already own the slots that are the subject of the auctions, are vigorously opposed to the auctions.

Delta released a statement that said: “The last thing the administration should do in its final days — especially in light of the flagging economy — is inconvenience passengers who have already booked flights, raise their fares, threaten jobs, and undermine the hundreds of millions in investments airlines have made in the New York-area market.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, Sarah Echols, stressed that the flight caps, when combined with slot auctions, would help “reduce congestion, keep air fares competitive and increase travel options in the New York aviation market.”

She added that the auctions would also protect “the vast majority of flights by incumbent carriers.”

Thanks to www.nytimes.com for the above quotes, for more information please visit their website.

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