Arpey Says Cuts Coming At DFW & ORD, But Hopes To See Rise At Busy NYC Airport

Analysis by Aero-News Managing Editor Rob Finfrock

If you head starts to ache after reading this, we don't blame you.

On the same day American Airlines unveiled a snazzy new terminal at New York's JFK International Airport, geared towards bringing even more flyers -- and, subsequently, more airplanes -- into the already-packed airport, American CEO Gerard Arpey also announced plans for the airline to reduce its flight schedule at two of its busiest hubs, in an effort to curb delays.

Dow Jones Newswires reports Arpey (right) told reporters Wednesday the airline's fall schedule will allow for extra time-on-ground for flights at American's hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. By adding an extra five-to-seven minutes between flights, Arpey said, the airline should be able "take the pressure off" a jam-packed departure schedule, and cut down on the time airliners spend waiting on the taxiway to depart from those airports.

The move follows one of the worst years ever for flight delays. American, in particular, has been hit with a series of cancellations, delays and diversions this year, many of them due to poor weather at DFW -- snowstorms in December, and severe thunderstorms in May and June. Both scenarios resulted in planes stuck on the ground, or diverted to other airports... and furious passengers.

So, Arpey's decision to cut back ever-so-slightly on scheduled flights would appear to be a step in the right direction... until you realize his comments came as American unveiled its new $1.3 billion terminal at JFK, that the airline is counting on to attract half-again as many passengers for the carrier at the busy airport, now dominated by Delta Air Lines and JetBlue.

Reuters reports the new terminal has 36 gates, 19 of which are geared towards international arrivals. The airline currently flies to 38 destinations from JFK, 23 of them international flights, with 92 operations a day.

In other words, American hopes to ease the kind of delays that have smacked the airline industry -- and its beleaguered passengers -- all year... while also increasing traffic to an airport already overrun with airliners, in particular regional jets.

Pass the Advil, the throbbing has started...

Dow Jones reports JFK is the third-busiest airport for international boardings, based on numbers from the first five months of the year. It was also third-worst among major airports for on-time arrivals.

It isn't hard to see why. JFK suffers from an aging infrastructure, and has precious little room left to expand... just as airlines have ramped up efforts to add even more passengers and flights. Weather also hasn't helped matters any.

Arpey didn't talk very much about those problems Wednesday. "We have got lots of opportunity for growth" at JFK, he said. "I think we are just getting started."

So, what's the magic bullet solution to these seemingly contradictory goals? Given his position as the CEO of the world's largest airline, Arpey's response probably won't surprise you -- the FAA's highly-touted "Next Generation" air traffic control system, which will rely heavily on such systems as automatic dependent surveillance-broadcasting (ADS-B) and other technologies aimed at putting more planes into smaller spaces.

Arpey also took the opportunity to parrot the Air Transport Association's oft-repeated mantra, that an increase in business jets is largely to blame for this summer's sharp increase in flight delay and cancellations.

"The pressure is worse because of all the corporate aircraft out there," Arpey said.

That's flat wrong, according to organizations such as the National Business Aviation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Granted, those groups may harbor a bias against the airlines (and, conversely, ATA against general aviation traffic)... but the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also says the airlines -- and the FAA -- are incorrectly pigeonholing smaller jets.

"Corporate aircraft are not the reason for system delays," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

"As long as the airlines operate a hub-and-spoke system, putting fewer passengers on more aircraft, all trying to arrive and depart at the same time, system delays are inevitable," added AOPA president Phil Boyer recently. "More runways would help, but it takes at least a decade to build a new runway in a major metropolitan area -- if local politics will allow it."

To be fair, Arpey wouldn't mind a bit if the hoped-for increase in American's JFK business came at the expense of other carriers at the airport... and not necessarily from an increase in overall traffic numbers. But Delta and JetBlue have also increased flights at JFK in recent years, and are working on either brand-new or refurbished terminals of their own to attract more passengers, as well. The trend is clearly going up, and not down.

There is no room at JFK -- or other New York-area airports, for that matter -- for more runways.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.aopa.org, www.airlines.org