Port Authority Rejects Federal Plan to Auction Airport Slots

By KAREN ROUSE, STAFF WRITER

A Port Authority plan to block the U.S. Department of Transportation from auctioning flight slots at three regional airports could land both agencies in court.

Officials with the bistate agency on Monday issued what they called a "preemptive strike" against the Bush administration plan, saying the Port Authority "would disallow flight departure or arrival slots that are ‘issued by auction.’"

Airlines currently do not have to bid for slots, which are reserved spots. Federal officials proposed the measure to reduce delays at regional airports, where delays and congestion are high.

"This is a preemptive strike to tell the FAA and DOT, if you do this and auction flights," those planes will not have access to the three Port Authority-run airports, said Bill DeCota, Port Authority director of aviation.

He said putting flight slots out to bid will increase airline ticket prices by 12 percent for consumers, who will eat the cost of bidding, and limit access to small- and medium-sized markets where carriers can’t afford to bid on slots.

DeCota said the federal government cannot legally auction flight slots without authorization from Congress.

But Federal Aviation Administration officials say the plan creates competition among carriers by allowing new airlines to get into the New York market, while keeping airfares affordable.

D.J. Gribbin, general counsel for the federal Department of Transportation, said the FAA has the legal authority to lease slots, but he refuted the Port Authority’s claim that it can block auctioned flights.

"They don’t have the legal authority to do that," said Gribbin. "We would try to talk them out of doing that," but if the Port Authority refused, he continued, "we would have to go to court and have them enjoined.

"An airport cannot on their own deny access to a carrier. It’s a public facility."

Gribbin said the federal government plans to begin auctioning flights before the end of the year.

The cost of slots hasn’t been discussed, but Gribbin said he believes they could range from $100,000 to $250,000 at peak periods.

While details are still being worked out, Gribbin said, just about 10 percent of the slots at an airport would be auctioned to the highest bidders. Bids on a portion of that 10 percent would re- open every five years to allow new businesses to get access to the airports.

Gribbin acknowledged that airlines could pass the bidding costs to customers, but he said that increase would be offset by even greater savings from competition when other airlines have access to the New York market.

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E-mail: rouse@northjersey.com

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