Philly Road Warrior | Bush faces uphill battle in cutting airport delays

President Bush weighed in last week on the worsening air-traffic-delay issue, inviting airline executives and the secretary of transportation to the Oval Office to jawbone about it. The most prominent quote from the president in the story we posted on the Road Warrior blog Friday: "We've got a problem. We understand there's a problem. And we're going to address the problem."

No kidding. Anyone who flies has known that for years. Many of you want to know why the folks running the government and the airlines seem to just now be elevating the search for solutions to the White House level. Here's the irony: Each time the president flies into Philadelphia or another major airport on Air Force One to make a speech, thousands of passengers are inconvenienced because all air traffic can come to a halt for several hours, throwing off schedules for the rest of the day.

But let's not dwell on that since it's a small part of "the problem." Let's dwell instead on how difficult it's going to be to fix it.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced before the summit conference that her department would work with airlines and airports to develop practices that may help by looking at options for reducing flight schedules at New York's three major airports. One-third of the nation's air traffic goes in, out or over New York, and the congestion causes three-quarters of all delays, Peters said. Check out her statements at www.dot.gov.

The options to be explored include exempting airlines from antitrust laws so they can act in concert to limit flights at peak hours, or using "congestion pricing," meaning raising fees on airlines to operate at the busiest times. Incidentally, there was no mention of Philadelphia International's chronic-delay situation, and we can only hope that reducing delays in New York doesn't mean dumping more traffic into PHL's adjacent airspace.

Peters called on Congress to adopt the administration's proposal to provide funding for new satellite-based traffic-control technology - without noting that it would be decades before that can help. Neither did the secretary mention hiring more air-traffic controllers, or managing the FAA better. Primarily because of new pay scales and job cuts when the administration imposed a labor contract on them last year, controllers are retiring at an unprecedented rate, often leaving facilities short-staffed. FAA critics like Michael Boyd, president of The Boyd Group consulting firm in Evergreen, Colo., say no matter what resources the agency is given, it doesn't know how to spend them wisely.

The ideas to be explored for the New York airports landed with a thud in airline executive suites. As some industry leaders were chatting at the White House, others were testifying to Congress that congestion pricing will not solve the problem and will only force carriers to raise fares and cut service to small cities. The industry doesn't think how it schedules flights at hub airports has worsened delays. The main causes, they say, are government agencies not spending enough on runways and other infrastructure and increases in the use of private jets by corporations and rich people.

The president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Susan Gurley, basically agrees with the airlines. She says an antiquated air-traffic-control system and lack of ground facilities are largely responsible for delays, and suggested travelers should adjust their expectations for on-time flights.

The airlines' view that how they schedule flights at hubs isn't a big part of the delay problem is a hard one to sell. Does anyone really believe that, when airlines schedule 50 to 60 departures and arrivals an hour at PHL, an airport that can handle a maximum of 35 or 40, they're all going to be on time?

The brightest new idea we've seen for addressing a situation that is getting worse by the day comes from Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor-based Business Travel Coalition. He wants the National Science Foundation's Transportation Research Board to convene a panel of experts to make recommendations for far more comprehensive solutions than any of the interested parties are likely to devise individually. His proposal was outlined in testimony to Congress last week, and can be found at www.businesstravelcoalition. com.

Travel agents are reminding airline passengers headed to or from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or non-U.S. Caribbean islands that, starting today, you need a passport, not just proof of an application. The State Department temporarily lifted its requirement on passports in June after falling behind in processing applications. The grace period has ended, although you can return to this country with just proof of an application.

We're officially off duty this week so won't be posting much on the Road Warrior blog. Regular service will resume the week of Oct. 8.