Dubai Debt Issues Push Stocks Down
Family Gets Early Christmas Gift From Ellen DeGeneres
Photos of D Train Murder Depict Bloody Panic
Mayor: Sex Trafficking Victims, Please Speak Up
Stuy Pyro Leaves Notes In Hieroglyphics
The FAA has big (jet) plans for La Guardia Airport.
Last year about 25.9 million people flew into La Guardia from all over. But the FAA thinks that it can handle at least 28.5 million a year. How exactly to get those extra millions into and out of the airport, without causing massive delays, is what is at issue.
There are two basic ways being discussed. First, the FAA could lift its cap on the number of planes which can fly into the airport per hour (there is currently a 79 flights per hour rule which is about to expire). The other option is to have airlines fly bigger planes into the city (recently there has been a growing trend among carriers to fly smaller regional flights with about 50 passengers). Considering the fact that the last time that the plane-cap was lifted the average delays at La Guardia went "from 15 minutes to about 38 minutes" we doubt you will be surprised that the FAA is more interested in the latter. The agency is "seeking Congressional approval of a broad plan to encourage more efficient use of La Guardia." Expected to be written up and approved by mid-2007, the new plan would require airlines to increase the average number of seats on their flights by about 5 to 7 percent.
We think that this is a solid idea. Nobody likes to see gridlock at the airports, but at the same time it is important that we allow as many people as possible to move through our system is possible. The only thing that worries us is that, despite the hopes of companies like Airbus, the trend for smaller and smaller planes doesn't seem to be stopping. We don't think that La Guardia needs more flights coming and going, but we do wonder where all those smaller planes will go.
Da Plane by kerfuffle & zeitgeist via Contribute.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I thought LGA's runways were relatively short and couldn't accomodate some of the bigger planes.
What I don't understand is the Port Authority rule barring flights longer than 1500 miles from LGA, arguably to divert more traffic to Newark and JFK. Shouldn't the market determine what flights fly from where??
(Also, the article says that planes as big as 767's can fly out of LGA. I assume that's the biggest plane that can use LGA's shorter runways, but then again, those are the planes that are regularly used to fly to LA anyway.)
I love flying in those smaller jets and turboprops.
Until, I just read today a Comair commuter jet just crashed after take off in Kentucky. Plane was intact but on fire. Believed to have one survivor, 47 may have died.
Whether LGA allows for more planes or more seats, what first must be attended to is how the airport deals with the additional luggage.
My boyfriend - a touring musician - and I flew out of LGA this weekend, going to Dallas. My boyfriend commented that he has NEVER seen such long lines and chaos at the self-service check-in stations; we realized that this is the result of passengers checking bags once again. The desk agents were completely inundated with luggage and questions (rendering the "self-service" element completely useless).
Upon returning to LGA, we and our fellow passengers had to wait for an hour at the baggage claim area. There were only two active belts; there were at least 3 flights designated to each belt. Despite the increase in luggage volume, I am sure the airports have not hired more baggage handlers, as a couple of new bags appeared on the belt only every ten to fifteen minutes. We were fortunate enough to have our luggage come sooner rather than later; there were a couple hundred people still searching for their bags by the time we left.