Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #451.............................................................................October 21, 2007 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm The PASSUR airport flight tracking system at many major U.S. airports http://www.passur.com/sites.htm (you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the newsletter sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy rockaway@prodigy.net
Quote of the Week: "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" comment by James May, president of the Air Transport Association, in a news story this week on the alleged reduction of flights at JFK Airport
More Communities Join Airspace Redesign Opposition!!!
As
Bill Sees It (Editorial):
Minneapolis Sells Out To Airport Noise Polluters For $127 Million Dollars!!! It's
really sad to see communities which have the misfortune of having an airport
located in their heart sell out the quality-of-life and health of their citizens
for a few crumbs the Aviation Cabal throws them. Local politicians and
newspapers (of course) are hailing the noise pollution settlement, which will go
towards noise proofing "eligible" homes, as greatest thing since
sliced bread. These communities will regret making this deal with the devil
as they will soon find out that this settlement will give the airport the green
light to expand airport operations. This will quickly erase any gains that
communities possibly will get
from the $4,000 to $14,000 noise proofing. They will regret they
didn't fight to limit airport operations 
instead
of selling out to the polluters. FAA Plan To Spread Out Airspace Redesign Noise Hitting More Snags!!!
For many years I've been (unsuccessfully) fighting for the FAA to get them to
stop concentrating noise impacts on communities. Now I am also fighting their
plan to spread out the noise over a wider area in the Northeast. The reason I am
against this new FAA scheme is because they are not spreading out the noise
impacts to "fairly share" impacts, they are doing so because it will
help them increase operations and cram more planes into major airports. Also,
the FAA has carefully
preserved in their airspace redesign scheme some of their favored (see map lower left), politically protected communities, like Lawrence, Long Island, from
overflights while planning to continue their concentrated flight routes over the
poor and minority area of Rockaway, New York City. The FAA has in the past
given
a reason for their not fairly sharing noise impacts. They have said (in writing
no less) they do not "want to put new noise over areas that have not gotten
noise before." They should tell that to the people of Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that will suddenly have jumbo jets appearing
over their homes soon. FAA To
"Slash" Flights At JFK Airport By 20 Percent??? That
was the title of a news
story this week. It
sounds to good to be true for JFK Airport noise victims and you can be sure it
will be. Of course this move is not being done to relieve airport noise
victims who live in communities around the airport. Is is being done to
reduce "delays" in the system which the FAA has in the past allowed
the airlines to jam more and more planes into. It is important to remember that
they are only talking about reducing plane operations during "peak"
hours and not overall daily operation numbers. I believe that means that communities around JFK
Airport can expect more flights to be pushed into the late night, early morning
hours. So much for the "relief" for JFK noise impacted communities
that various newspaper stories
say will get.
Connecticut: New Canaan Joins Anti Airspace
Redesign Coalition!!! A group of New Canaan, CT city officials met on October 16 to approve an
agreement that would allow financing a lawsuit appealing a recent airspace
design by the Federal Aviation Administration. New Canaan will join other cities
in the region that are concerned that new air traffic routing and will lower
property values due to noise pollution and are concerned about environmental,
and safety issues. As
ANN reported, the FAA approved a plan in September that would allow
planes on descent to La Guardia Airport to be redirected over Southern Fairfield
County. New Canaan city officials feel that Continental Airlines has been
fighting for another corridor into Newark Airport for over 10 years... and that
the FAA has shifted aircraft easterly to accommodate their request, according to
a story in the New Canaan Advertiser. New Canaan First Selectman Judy Neville
thinks that an appeals court will bundle the suits from the three states.
"The most important issue is that assuming that these cases are bundled,
and there is a 'win,' meaning it is sent back to the FAA for further review,
revisions, or compromise, Fairfield County -- the State of Connecticut -- cannot
be missing at the table," Neville said. "At that time it is
critical that Fairfield County and or the State be present so that we have
future options." http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=1b3c08b7-cbb5-48d9-95bf-c55612111573
JFK
Airport To Reduce Flights During "Peak" Hours? 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, over 100 flights were scheduled during certain hours
at JFK, the FAA says. Next year, the agency is aiming to cap that number around
80. 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." http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieD2lAMIayqL66JzVc9hJ5rludEAD8SD7T4O0
Editor's Note: Of course not one word in the newspaper stories about
shifting flights to the offpeak late night and early morning hours.
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Important Aviation News Stories This Week
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, over 100 flights were scheduled during certain hours at JFK, the FAA says. Next year, the agency is aiming to cap that number around 80.
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.
Write to Christopher Conkey at christopher.conkey@wsj.com
Posted: 10/19/07 http://www.thisweek-online.com/2007/October/19lawsuit.html
by Erin Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers
Hundreds of Eagan residents who were promised insulation from airport noise could finally see relief after the city reached a settlement with the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
The Eagan City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a settlement offered by the MAC that would provide $7.4 million in noise insulation improvements for more than 500 Eagan homes.
The homes are located in the 60-64 noise-level contours on the MAC’s noise map.
The settlement still has to be approved by the FAA, which has to make a decision by Nov. 30.
This settlement should bring some well-deserved and long-awaited relief to affected residents, Mayor Mike Maguire said.
“This is a banner day for Eagan residents who have been waiting a long time,” he said. “Homeowners closest to the airport’s parallel runways have had to live with unacceptable noise levels for more than a decade.”
Eagan, along with Minneapolis and Richfield, filed a lawsuit against the MAC in 2005 over what it called broken promises to homeowners impacted by airport noise.
The cities claim that in 1996 the MAC promised to insulate homes severely impacted by airport noise at no cost to homeowners.
The cities said they supported an expansion of the airport at its current location based on the MAC’s commitment that homes in the 60-64 noise-level contour would receive mitigation.
Mitigation generally includes insulation, new doors, windows and central air. The MAC automatically mitigates homes in the 65-plus noise-level contour.
In 2004, the MAC cut funds for its noise abatement program and said it would offer only air conditioning to homes in the 60-64 noise-level contour, and homeowners must pay half the cost.
That decision impacted about 500 Eagan homes in the 60-64 contour that were expecting more comprehensive noise mitigation.
If the settlement is approved, those homes will get the option of two packages. One offers central air and $4,000 toward other noise insulation measures, and the other offers $14,000 — not including central air — toward noise insulation measures.
Most eligible homes are located in northeast Eagan and receive noise from the parallel runways that fly over the Eagan/Mendota Heights corridor. Only a few homes near Cedar Avenue and Highway 13 will see relief, according to the city. Homes affected by noise from the new north/south runway are not within the MAC’s 60-64 noise contour.
The MAC is expected to submit a map to the city this week that will make clear exactly which blocks are eligible for relief. The city will post the map on its Web site at www.cityofeagan.com
Nearly 40 multifamily homes in Eagan are also expected to be eligible for up to $1,500 in air-conditioning improvements.
In addition, up to 177 Eagan homes that were included on MAC’s 2005 noise contour map but not on its 2007 version may be eligible for $2,500 in relief options.
The MAC’s settlement offer for all three cities totals $127 million.
If the settlement is approved, relief measures for homeowners in Eagan will begin in December 2008 and be completed by December 2012.
For more information on the settlement, contact the MAC at (612) 726-8100 or Dianne Miller at the City of Eagan at (651) 675-5014.
Erin Johnson is at
eagan.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
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Important Aviation News Stories This Week
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119283843492565553.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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, over 100 flights were scheduled during certain hours at JFK, the FAA says. Next year, the agency is aiming to cap that number around 80.
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.
Write to Christopher Conkey at christopher.conkey@wsj.com