CNN Video Tapes Delays

CNN sent a news crew on a flight from Chicago's O'Hare Airport to JFK in order to document the airlines' outrageous delays.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/10/31/lawrence.flight.from.hell.cnn

Profile of an Angel Flight volunteer

Here's a great article about someone who is taking advantage of his retirement to make a difference in California. As a volunteer for Angel Flight, Jerre McClelland has made more than 600 trips since 1992, flying hundreds of patients and their families.

Mr. McClelland recently received a Wingman award from Angel Flight West. Click here to read more.

GA Makes A Difference

We all know how much GA makes a difference in people's lives but it is always nice to read these stories. Grace Flight, a company that provides air travel for those in need, flew 13 year-old Andrew Madden and his doctor to Boston for game 2 of the World Series. Andrew won the tickets from his doctor, who promised them to him if he pulled through heart transplant surgery...which he did.

Here's the Article from Aero-News:

Grace Flight Transports Young Heart Patient To World Series

Sat, 27 Oct '07

Recovery Room Bet Leads To Fenway Park

Here's a story with a lot of heart... from everyone involved. An Odessa, TX teen was able to live his dream of attending a World Series game, with a little help from Grace Flight of America, his doctor, and the Boston Red Sox.

Andrew Madden, 13, made a bet with fellow Boston Red Sox fan Dr. Kristine Guleserian in the cardiology ward of the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, TX: If he pulled through heart transplant surgery and the difficult recuperation process, she'd treat him to a Red Sox World Series game.

"It was just kinda something to hope for," Madden told the Boston Herald. "(Something) to get my mind off how I was sick and the surgery and everything."

Madden received his new heart September 30... and Thursday night, both doctor and young patient enjoyed watching Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park, in a suite donated by Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino. Nonprofit group Grace Flight of America flew the two -- along with Andrew's mom, Lauri Wemmer -- to Boston on a private jet.

Madden even threw out the first pitch.

The teen credits Dr. Guleserian for assisting in his quick recovery. "She’s amazing," Madden said. "That’s really been the true experience, just getting to meet her and have her as a friend."

"First we’d talk on what was going on in baseball," added Guleserian, "and then it was 'how are you feeling?'"

And speaking of that, Madden told reporters Thursday "I feel great. I have a lot of energy!"

So did his beloved Red Sox... who will take a two-game series lead to Denver, after beating the Colorado Rockies 2-1 Thursday night.

Nice job, everybody.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=e4c91974-fc5a-49b1-8097-0aa0bbace13e&

Airline tax break putting flight students at risk

In a column in the Rocky Mountain News, David Cole of Colorado Northwestern Community College argues that proposed new fees and taxes on general aviation would cripple the industry, making aviation careers less appealing to potential students.

Cole writes, "This would eventually reduce the number of trained pilots available to work in our state, harming the businesses that rely on planes to serve customers in rural areas, and even the airlines themselves."

Click here for the full story.

DOT To Fine Late Airlines

It looks like the Department of Transportation is going to start fining "chronically late airlines" reports the Associated Press. It's about time the DOT did something about delays that will really send a message to the airlines - go after their bottom line.

Unfortunately the airlines may just pass the cost off to their customers...

Chronically late airlines could face US fines

Carriers criticize government's threat of penalties

By Associated Press | October 24, 2007

WASHINGTON - Airlines that operate chronically delayed flights could face stiff fines in the coming weeks as the government concludes a six-month investigation into potentially deceptive business practices.

The Transportation Department in May began investigating flights that are at least 15 minutes late more than 70 percent of the time, and so far has identified 26 that meet those criteria, an agency spokesman said yesterday.

If any of those 26 flights also were delayed in the most recent quarter being reviewed, the responsible airlines will face "significant financial penalties," agency spokesman Brian Turmail said. Results of the investigation are expected within weeks.

The commercial airlines trade group criticized the government's possible penalties.

"No one has greater incentive to move its flights on time than the airlines," said David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, because they cost the industry $6 billion per year and it means "we fail our customers." But the answer is not eliminating flights from the chronically delayed list, which are there based on customer demand, he added.

The Federal Aviation Administration handles roughly 85,000 flights per day, a number predicted to reach more than 111,000 flights by 2020.

But delays this summer reached record levels.

The Transportation Department earlier this month said more than 25 percent of domestic flights arrived late between January and August - easily the industry's worst performance since comparable data began being collected in 1995.

In August alone, 23 flights were late at least 90 percent of the time, and more than 100 flights were late at least 80 percent of the time. Almost half of Atlantic Southeast Airlines' flights were delayed, and two arrived late every time they took off.

Kristen Loughman, a spokeswoman for ASA - a Delta Connection carrier owned by SkyWest Inc. - said the company was unaware of any fines being considered by the government. Any Atlantic Southeast flight on the Transportation Department's monthly report of delays becomes its top priority to fix, she added.

Other airlines that operated flights that were late at least 90 percent of the time in August were: ExpressJet Holdings Inc., which flies regional service for Continental Airlines Inc.; SkyWest Inc.; AirTran Holdings Inc.; and Delta Air Lines Inc. and its subsidiary Comair Inc.

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/10/24/chronically_late_airlines_could_face_us_fines/

Airlines in denial

These two quotes say it all. The airlines are still refusing to acknowledge the fact that they have caused delays by overscheduling flights into and out of JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia.

"We're not sure just reducing commercial operations will have any significant impact on delays." - David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association

“When publishing schedules that offer 61 departing flights between 8 and 9 a.m. — when the airport can handle only 44 departures — is not fair to fliers.” -Mary Peters, Secretary of the Department of Transportation

Department of Transportion to Try to Fix Delays at JFK

The Department of Transportation wants to alleviate some of the delays at JFK by capping the number of flights in and out of the overcrowded airport. Guess what the airlines want? To stick their heads in the sand and hope the problem just disappears.

Full article in The Wall Street Journal:

JFK Flights May Be Capped

By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY
October 22, 2007; Page A10

WASHINGTON -- Ahead of a meeting next week with airlines, the Department of Transportation said it will seek to reduce the number of scheduled flights at New York's Kennedy airport by as much as 20% during peak rush hours next year in a bid to relieve congestion.

In August, more than 100 flights were scheduled during certain hours at Kennedy Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Next year, the agency is aiming to cap that at around 80 flights.

JFK is last in on-time departures so far this year among major airports, and near bottom in arrivals, according to DOT statistics. The FAA singled out the airport for scheduling reductions last month.

In recent weeks, FAA officials have increasingly pointed to overscheduling by airlines as a leading cause of delays, which have soared to record levels amid increasing demand for air travel this year. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the agency would rather not impose scheduling restrictions -- a move that can leave consumers with fewer choices during popular travel times -- but said inaction on the part of airlines left regulators with little choice.

"Our strong preference is to develop market-based solutions that will address delays and preserve passenger choice," Ms. Peters said in a statement. "But we will consider scheduling reductions as a last resort in order to prevent a repeat of this summer's nightmare delays."

A trade group representing airlines objected to the move. "This is a disappointing decision. Slashing operations at JFK alone will not solve the congestion problem but will shut the door on growth for our country's leading international gateway," said James May, CEO of the Air Transport Association. "We know that there are better solutions to New York's capacity needs and we are committed to working with FAA to put them into effect."

Airlines say the high-level of scheduling during certain hours reflects consumer demand, and they are pushing to get the FAA to redesign New York's airspace to improve efficiency in the region. That effort is proceeding slowly amid objection from local communities. Airlines are also hoping to convince the military to open restricted airspace during periods of bad weather to free up additional airways.

Next week, the FAA will meet individually with each carrier operating at JFK to determine exactly how many flights they can operate during rush hours. It is shaping up to be the most contentious round of scheduling negotiations since a similar process for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport dragged on for two weeks in 2004.

The Chicago round of negotiations mostly involved two dominant carriers, United Airlines and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines. The situation at JFK is more complicated and involves many domestic and international carriers, suggesting the talks could stretch for several weeks.

The FAA would likely seek to apportion any cuts in the number of flights equally among carriers.

Write to Christopher Conkey at christopher.conkey@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119283843492565553.html