Better Airports NY-NJ

JFK Runway Repairs Start Today

2010-03-01T20:10:39Z

Starting today, runway 13R-31L at JFK International, otherwise known as the "Bay Runway" will close for four months as the 14,572-foot long stretch of pavement undergoes repairs. The runway will be widened from 150 to 200 feet and taxiways will be added in an effort to ease traffic congestion at the airport. Regional Plan Association is currently partnering with government, business and civic groups in studying long term solutions for reducing delays and managing passenger growth at the region's airports. Results are expected this fall.

]]> PDF Release

FROM: Regional Plan Association
CONTACT: Neysa Pranger at (917) 532-0567; npranger@rpa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2010

Statement from Regional Plan Association
JFK Runway Repairs Start Today

(New York, NY) Starting today, runway 13R-31L at JFK International, otherwise known as the "Bay Runway" will close for four months as the 14,572-foot long stretch of pavement undergoes repairs. The runway will be widened from 150 to 200 feet and taxiways will be added in an effort to ease traffic congestion at the airport.

To mitigate the short-term impact the closure will have on departures and arrivals, airlines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have agreed on a plan that reduces flight volume during a traditionally slower period in air travel.

The project, which is estimated to cost $376 million and is being paid for in part by federal stimulus funding, is projected to provide approximately 2,500 jobs and, according to New York Governor David Paterson's office, will "reduce flight delays overall by an estimated 10,500 hours per year."

"Air delays cost the New York regional economy over $2.5 billion per year. Any action to reduce those delays in the long term should be a welcome one," said Bob Yaro, president, Regional Plan Association.

Regional Plan Association is currently studying long term solutions for reducing delays and managing passenger growth at the region's airports. Results are expected this fall.

For more information, contact:
Neysa Pranger at (917) 532-0567 or Jeff Zupan at (845) 356-2563.

Strike in France foreshadows difficulties with NextGen

2010-03-01T14:29:09Z

Even though there is no single silver bullet that will solve the NY region's airport woes, some improvements like NextGen will likely be part of the solution. This important technological upgrade of the nation's air traffic control system will have numerous benefits, which we covered in a previous post.

For all its benefits, implementation of NextGen will not be without challenges, one of which will involve negotiating with various labor groups over the duties and responsibilities of an air traffic controller under NextGen.

]]>

A recent New York Times article highlights the difficulties France is experiencing as it modernizes its air traffic control system under an initiative known as Single European Sky. Specifically, air traffic control unions are threatening to strike over these changes, fearing they will lose some civil servant benefits or even lose their jobs as a result.

True, controllers in the US would face legal ramifications if they were to strike (leaders could get jail time and unions are normally fined), making a strike less likely here. However, the French experience does drive home the point that the transition from our current air traffic control system to NextGen will have to be carefully and thoughtfully managed, and that all stakeholders must be included in the process.

Low Satisfaction at the NY Region's Airports

2010-03-01T14:25:13Z

According to a recently released J.D. Power and Associates report measuring overall airport satisfaction, New York's three largest airports again received low rankings. Newark and LaGuardia airports received below average rankings for every category measured, including overall satisfaction, accessibility, check in, security, terminal, food and retail services, and baggage claim. Kennedy airport fared only slightly better, with most rankings below average except check in and security, which were both rated average.

The survey also found that the airport experience is the least pleasant for travelers, when compared with hotel and rental car satisfaction.

Tell us what you think about the New York region's airports today!

Where are those planes?

2010-02-17T16:19:52Z

The benefits of NextGen continue with ADS-B (Automated Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast). This program uses the GPS constellation and digital communications to replace conventional radar as the means of locating the position of aircraft. ]]> It would create a wireless peer-to-peer network between aircraft, enabling them to "virtually see" which aircraft are in their general vicinity. All aircraft would also continuously report their position and status to air control centers via ground-based receivers or space-based communications satellites.

Communication and Information

2010-02-17T16:14:38Z

NextGen will transform the way aircraft communicate with each other and with air traffic controllers. Currently, most flight information is delivered between aircraft and air traffic controllers via voice communications. With NextGen, much of this information will be transmitted digitally to increase efficiency and decrease the opportunities for error. This will involve upgrading the air traffic control telecommunication systems, laying more fiber and provisioning more satellite bandwidth.

]]> To further facilitate communication of information, SWIM (System Wide Information Management) would create common standards for sharing information to streamline flight planning and air traffic management. To create these standards, the industry and government will need to collaborate to create common databases and shared services.

Are flight times really increasing?

2010-02-11T21:58:07Z

If you've had a sneaking suspicion that flight times have been increasing, you are on to something. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looked at 50 domestic flights on nine airlines and found that scheduled flight times were 10% longer this March than they were in March of 1996.

]]> In examining actual flight data, Northeastern University economist Steven Morrison notes that between 1977 and October 2009, the amount of time an aircraft spends on the ground from when it leaves the gate to when it arrives at its destination gate has increased by an average of 9.9 minutes. Morrison also found that time in the air has increased 6.1 minutes.

The article speculates there could be many reasons for the increases, including the fact that problems in the air traffic control system have made flight times more unpredictable, planes are also flying 2% slower to save fuel costs, and many carriers have been switching to smaller regional jets, which don't fly as fast and can slow down planes behind them.

RPA is currently studying the reasons behind the NY metropolitan region's air traffic congestion and exploring solutions. Let us know how congestion affects you by taking our quick survey.

Navigation: Better Flight Paths

2010-02-09T21:26:18Z

Today, aircraft must fly from one radio-beacon, or VOR, to another. This is typically not the most direct route, and results in a sort of zig-zag flight path. With NextGen, navigation will be performance-based, thereby improving how precisely an aircraft navigates to its final destination, minimizing course deviation.

]]> RNAV, or Area Navigation, is one of NextGen's improvements. It uses the Global Positioning System to define the fixed ground-based beacons as waypoints. Since the aircraft will not have to fly in-range of every beacon, more direct routing to the final destination will be possible.

RNP, or Navigation Performance, in combination with other NextGen technologies controls how much an aircraft deviates from its fixed flight path. This technology will make closely spaced parallel runway operations possible. In combination with time-based trajectories, aircraft will be able to make real-time adjustments in flight speed, based on changes to the flight schedule, weather conditions, or airspace/airport developments.

Airspace redesign

2010-01-28T21:22:25Z

The FAA is implementing a four phase plan to redesign the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia airspace, which should be completed by 2012. These changes should reduce delays, improve travel times, and service reliability.

]]> As part of this planned redesign, the FAA has already implemented fanned dispersal headings at Newark & LaGuardia Airports. This allows aircraft to separate upon takeoff instead of further out from the airport, thereby increasing capacity and allowing flights to be more direct.

The FAA is also in the process of transferring portions of NY Center's airspace to the TRACON to allow for more routing flexibility. This is the first step towards more direct flight paths, which is an improvement we will see with NextGen.

Redesigning the airspace is important, necessary, and will reduce delays. However, alone it cannot improve efficiency to the level necessary to allow us to accommodate the anticipated growth in air traffic the New York region's airports will experience.

How will NextGen Help?

2010-01-28T21:19:13Z

NextGen is an important component of the FAA's plan to redesign the region's airspace and modernize the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. We must invest in this technology because we need more capacity to meet the current and projected demand for air travel. Physically expanding the airports will likely be part of the solution, but these technologies will help us get more capacity out of our existing facilities and reduce delays.

]]> The benefits of transiting to this new digital system are clear. Transmission of detailed instructions and large amounts of data would be more efficient and less prone to verbal errors. Planes could be routed more directly, thereby saving money and fuel. New additions of GPS capabilities would enable air traffic controllers to know the precise location of aircraft and would allow aircraft to "virtually see" where other aircraft are located, which would improve safety. Together, these improvements have the potential to substantially reduce delays and increase airspace capacity.

A Menu of Options

2010-01-19T16:35:14Z

It is unlikely that a single silver bullet can solve all of the region's airport woes. Rather, it is more likely that many actions taken together will make a difference. RPA is exploring them all, to address not just today's delays and congestion problems, but to create the capacity to handle the inevitable growth in air travel.

]]> We will determine whether there is a silver bullet or maybe even a cannonball, and which ones are b-bs and which ones are duds. What are we looking at? These:

o Implementing satellite technology to guide planes

o Expanding the region's airport runway capacity

o Diverting regional air passengers to rail

o Redesigning airspace flight patterns

o Better utilizing other airports in the region like Stewart Airport

o Higher prices for peak hour flights

o Banning shorter flights or smaller planes during peak hours

While the effort required and the cost to implement these strategies is likely to be significant, the cost of doing nothing is too great. Airport congestion costs our economy over $2 billion a year and takes an emotional toll on passengers. Flight travel might be down because of the recession but this is likely to change as the economy rebounds. As tough as some solutions are, elected officials and other decision makers must make delay reduction and capacity expansion at our airports a priority.

Delays at the Big 3 have Passengers Looking Elsewhere

2010-01-12T21:34:53Z

Congestion and delays have been mounting at New York's three major airports - Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK. According to a recent Newsday article, passengers are responding by using nearby airports, such as Long Island's MacArthur, instead.

]]> While this and other regional airports offer a smaller range of destinations, they often have fewer delays, less expensive or free parking, and provide peace of mind to travelers. RPA is currently studying whether or not diverting some passengers to regional airports should be part of a larger effort to reduce airport congestion and delays in the region. Until the recommendations are out, you can explore facts about the other airports in the region here.

Kennedy Runway Closure: Big Steps for the Long Haul

2010-01-11T16:19:53Z

Friday's New York Times reports on the impending closure of runway 13R-31L - Kennedy's longest and most heavily used - for a four month period starting in June of this year. The delays that may result, along with those from superimposed security delays and always-hard-to-determine weather patterns, have the potential to add up to major frustrations, but the move is a good one for the long haul.

]]>

Delays Decline in '09

2010-01-07T19:38:03Z

A recent Wall Street Journal article, "An Airline Report Card: Fewer Delays, Hassles Last Year, but Bumpy Times May Be Ahead", confirms Regional Plan Association's findings that flight delays declined in 2009 largely due to the recession, but will probably return worse than ever once the economy recovers. The article notes that Newark Airport beat LaGuardia Airport in 2009 for the spot as the "worst" airport in terms of delays.

RPA is working closely with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop a series of recommendations for ameliorating these delays in the New York region's airports. Join the Better Airports Alliance today to make sure your airports improve!

Delays Cost Billions

2010-01-04T21:14:30Z

Airport congestion costs the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut regional economy over $2 billion a year, far too high a cost to do nothing.]]> Additionally, there are many ways in which delays are felt that cannot be quantified, including time lost waiting to pick up passengers from delayed flights, missed connecting flights, adjusted schedules to anticipate delays, time lost using a slower mode; and the psychological costs of spoiled vacations and missed meetings, among others.

The Heart of the Problem

2009-12-15T15:45:24Z

Air travel passengers everywhere dread the possibility of long delays on the tarmac, explains Richard Newman in an article recently published in The Record. However, the article also explains that these very visible and unfortunate delays are really a "symptom of a bigger problem - an outdated national air traffic control system that has not kept pace with growth in travel." This really gets to the heart of the problem, particularly at the New York region's airports where in 2007 two thirds of the region's flights were delayed and three quarters of delays nationwide were due to the New York region's airports. Let us know how delays affect you!