United States Turns Back The Clock On Air Travel Action Helps Airlines, Harms Public

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Arlington Heights, IL, United States, 12/21/2007 - The Bush Administration reverted back to 1968 to solve its problems with airport delays; DOT and GAO show that there is a better solution that does not favor the industry, but the public.

The Bush led Federal Aviation Administration has finally reverted back to 1968 to solve its problems with airport delays by reinstating the High Density Rule (slot rule), which allocates capacity by limiting the number of flight operations at an airport during certain periods of the day.

The rule was instituted back in 1968, at five airports for the very same reason it is being reinstated now, to solve a Serious congestion and delay problem that backups throughout the whole national air transportation system. The original airports were Chicago OHare, New Yorks Kennedy and La Guardia, Washington Regan and Newark Liberty.

In 1995, a Department of Transportation Report to Congress findings cautioned Congress not to remove the rule, showing that it would cause severe congestion, which is exactly what happened. Among the reports numerous concerns, it states that, If lifting the HDR precipitates significant travel delays, consumers, airlines and airports will be motivated to adjust their behavior in response to market forces

Six years later, in 2001, the reports horrendous delay findings was again reconfirmed in an independent government study by the U.S. General Accounting (Accountability) Office, which received very little attention because it was released shortly after the 9-11 tragedy. Among its many findings and even solutions, the report also warned that implementing the change that is needed will be difficult because of the monopolistic nature of air transportation and the local and state governments that own and/or benefit from the status-quo.

Despite all the forewarning, the movement to remove the slot rule was lead by east coast legislators and the Clinton Administration, who claimed that it would bring more competition, even after being cautioned that terrible delays would happen. And, if fact, it did lead to the horrendous delays starting back in 2000, immediately after the rule was removed at Chicago OHare.

The industrys underlying reason for the removal of the slot rule was to convince Washington and the air traveler that the industry needed more airport expansion; even despite stagnate population growth, it needed runways to accommodate for the industrys 4-Phased artificial growth scheme.

What the removal of the slot rule actually attained, was give the air transport industry even more of a monopolistic hold then they had over our national mass transit system, leaving out genuine competition from other forms of high speed travel, a real solution for our long term transportation needs, such as high-speed rail. Studies show that more than 50% of the travelers would directly benefit from a national world-class high-speed rail system as well, as, millions of new jobs.

We now have one of the worst transportation systems in the industrialized nations; one of the main reasons is the monopolization that the air transportation industry has on our national mass transportation system, states Jack Saporito, president of The American Working Group for National Policy. What American travelers need is not more of the same air transport fixes that do not work, but a long-term national transportation solution that integrates an intermodal approach, giving the traveler more options and giving air transport and government owned airports what it really needs -- competition.

http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/27643/