Gao-12-902, Slot-Controlled

United States Government Accountability Office

Report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate

GAO

September 2012

SLOT-CONTROLLED AIRPORTS

FAA’s Rules Could be Improved to Enhance Competition and Use of Available Capacity

GAO-12-902

September 2012

SLOT-CONTROLLED AIRPORTS

FAA’s Rules Could Be Improved to Enhance Competition and Use of Available Capacity

Highlights of GAO-12-902 , a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate

What GAO Found
Why GAO Did This Study

The 16 new beyond-perimeter flights that were authorized in 2012 for Reagan National Airport are likely to have a limited effect on the airports in the Washington, D.C., area. Reagan National has sufficient runway capacity to accommodate the new beyond-perimeter flights and, with some improvements to baggage handling and security screening facilities, will have sufficient terminal capacity. Reagan National is routinely operating below 67 hourly takeoffs and landings (“slots”)—the maximum number authorized in any one hour—mostly because general aviation or other unscheduled aircraft operations decreased substantially after new security restrictions were imposed following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. GAO’s analysis found that the new beyond-perimeter flights could add a maximum of about 5 percent of 2011 passenger levels at Reagan National, and if all of that increase came from passengers moving from Dulles International or Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall, these airports could experience a maximum decline of 4.1 percent of 2011 passenger levels. As a result, because Reagan National and Dulles generally do not share what are largely fixed costs, passengers shifting from Dulles to the new beyond-perimeter flights at Reagan National would, in the worst-case scenario, increase average airline costs to use Dulles by about 4 percent. Similarly, the new beyond-perimeter flights are not likely to affect the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority’s (MWAA) ability to service its $5.2 billion debt for the two airports. Finally, because half of the new beyond-perimeter flights were awarded to low cost airlines, thereby increasing competition, these new flights could have a positive effect on airfares on routes where new flights were added.

To help manage airport congestion, airlines operating at four U.S. airports—Washington’s Reagan National and the three major New York City area airports—must obtain operating authorizations called slots from FAA to take off or land. Airlines operating out of Reagan National also may not operate flights beyond a 1,250-mile perimeter without congressional approval. In addition to the 24 flights (12 round trips) previously approved, Congress recently authorized 16 more beyondperimeter flights (8 round-trips) at Reagan National—flights that the airport authority fears will adversely affect Reagan National and the authority’s ability to continue servicing its debt. Some airlines seeking to serve slot-controlled airports assert that slot control rules cause the airports to be underutilized or used inefficiently. GAO was asked to review (1) the effects of adding more beyondperimeter flights from Reagan National and (2) how well slot control rules are working to reduce congestion, while maximizing capacity and encouraging competition. GAO analyzed slot allocation and airline schedule data, developed a statistical model, and interviewed FAA officials and others.

Slot control rules help the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) manage congestion at these four airports by limiting the number of takeoffs and landings that airlines may make per hour. The rules, however, in effect, allow some existing airport capacity to go unused, and this capacity is therefore unavailable to other airlines because airlines are not required to schedule a flight for each of their slots, but instead are only required to use their slots 80 percent of the time. Moreover, FAA’s recordkeeping and its process for reviewing airlines’ selfreported slot utilization data do not provide sufficient assurance that FAA can identify instances when airlines do not meet the 80 percent utilization requirement or determine how much capacity is going unused. In addition, FAA’s allowing airlines to apply the requirement collectively to their pool of slots, rather than individual slots, further contributes to slots going unused and provides an advantage to airlines with large slot holdings. In addition to some existing capacity going unused, flights at the slot-controlled airports, even when operated, tend to be scheduled in such a way that available capacity is used more inefficiently than at like-sized airports that are not slot-controlled, thereby limiting passenger growth and access by new-entrant airlines that could offer new service or lower fares. For example, GAO found that flights operated at slotcontrolled airports tend to be scheduled with smaller aircraft. Using statistical analyses, GAO found that scheduled passenger flights at slot-controlled airports are 75 percent more likely to be scheduled by airlines using an aircraft with fewer than 100 seats than flights at other like-sized airports that are not slot-controlled. Slot-controlled airports also tend to have certain routes that are flown at higher daily rates and aircraft that are less full.

What GAO Recommends

Among other things, GAO recommends that FAA improve its administration of the slot control rules, including applying the utilization requirement to individual slots. Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA provided technical comments, which GAO incorporated as appropriate, and agreed to consider the recommendations.

View GAO-12-902 . For more information, contact Susan Fleming at (202) 512-2834 or

[email protected]

United States Government Accountability Office

Contents

Letter

1

4

Background

Reagan National Can Accommodate New Beyond-Perimeter
Flights, Which Are Likely to Have a Limited Effect on Other

Washington, D.C., Area Airports

16

Slot Control Rules Help Manage Congestion, but Allowing Airlines
Not to Use Some Slots May Hinder Competition
Conclusions Recommendations for Executive Action Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
29 53 54 55

Appendix I

Appendix II

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

58

Comparative Information on Major Airports in the New York City and

Washington, D.C., Area

64

65

Appendix III

Appendix IV
History of Slot Control Rules and Related Actions Trends in Average Annual Passenger Traffic and Airfares at Selected

Washington, D.C., Area Airports

75

Appendix V

Logistic Regression Analysis of Slot-Controlled Airports and

Aircraft Size

99

107 111
Appendix VI Appendix VII
Comments from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Comments from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Page i

GAO-12-902 Airport Slot Controls

Appendix VIII

Tables

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

112

Table 1: Selected Slot Control Rule Provisions for the Four U.S.
Slot-Controlled Airports
Table 2: Hourly Aircraft Operations (Takeoffs and Landings)
Allowed at Reagan National
10 17
Table 3: Impact of New Beyond-Perimeter Exemptions on Average
Peak and Non-Peak Hour Slot Allocations at Reagan National for the Summer 2012 Season
Table 4: Projected Impact of the New Beyond-Perimeter Flights at
Reagan National on the Cost per Enplaned Passenger in 2013 and 2014
Table 5: Percentage Difference in Flights at Slot-Controlled
Airports That Use Small Aircraft Compared with Flights at Non-Slot-Controlled Airports, 2011
18 25 42
Table 6: Percentage Difference in Likelihood of a Flight’s Using
Small Aircraft at Slot-Controlled Airports Compared with

Non-Slot-Controlled Airports

44

Table 7: Logistic Regression Results for Slot-Controlled-Airport and
Aircraft-Size Model, Small Aircraft with 100 Seats or Fewer
Table 8: Logistic Regression Results for Alternative Slot-
Controlled-Airport Variable Definitions, Small Aircraft with 100 Seats or Fewer
104 104 105 106

Figures

Figure 1: Annual Percentage of Late Arrivals and Flight
Cancellations at the Four Slot-Controlled Airports Compared with All Airports from 2002 through 2011
Figure 2: Nonstop Beyond-Perimeter Slot Exemption Destinations from Reagan National from 2000 through 2012
6
15

32

Figure 3: Areas of Unused Capacity at Slot-Controlled Airports

Page ii

Page iii

Page iv

Abbreviations

AIR-21

Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for

the 21st Century

BWI

Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall

Airport
BTS DOJ DOT IATA FAA JFK
Bureau of Transportation Statistics Department of Justice Department of Transportation International Air Transport Association Federal Aviation Administration John F. Kennedy International Airport Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Transportation Security Administration
MWAA TSA

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.

Page v

United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548

September 13, 2012 The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV Chairman The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison Ranking Member Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate

For each takeoff or landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Reagan National) and the three major New York City area airports—John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia International (LaGuardia), and Newark Liberty International (Newark)—airlines must obtain an operating authorization, also known as a “slot,”¹from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Although more than 150 airports are slot-controlled throughout the world, including all major European airports, only these four airports are currently subject to slot controls in the United States. FAA started limiting the number of takeoffs and landings per hour at these airports more than 40 years ago because of congestion and delay. Reagan National is also subject to a federallyimposed 1,250-mile limit on the distance of nonstop flights to and from the airport, called the perimeter rule. However, on three occasions since 2000, federal statutes have been enacted requiring a total of 40 slot exemptions (20 round trips) to the perimeter rule, allowing nonstop flights to destinations more than 1,250 miles from the airport. This includes 16 more beyond-perimeter flights (8 round trips) required as part of the reauthorization of FAA in February 2012.²Although we reported in 1999 and 2007³that Reagan National could accommodate additional flights, the airport authority that operates Reagan National—the Metropolitan

¹FAA regulations at 14 C.F.R. Part 93, subparts K and S applicable to Reagan National Airport use the term “slots,” whereas FAA orders applicable to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark use the term “operating authorization.” For the purposes of this report we refer to both as slots.

²FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-95, § 414, 126 Stat. 11 (2012).

³GAO, Reagan National Airport: Capacity to Handle Additional Flights and Impact on Other Airports, GAO/RCED-99-234 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 17, 1999) and Reagan National Airport: Update on Capacity to Handle Flights and Impact on Other Airports,

GAO-07-352 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 28, 2007).