New Report: Air Travel System Likely to Get Worse

WGRZ -- Buffalo ^ | 2009-10-08 | NBC

[Willie Green]

A new report out Thursday report warns of an air travel system in trouble.

Ten percent of all flights now arrive at least two hours late, that's double the rate from 1990.

Researchers say it's likely to get worse as the economy gets better.

Adie Tomer, a Transportation Research Analyst, from the Brookings Institution sais, "We do expect that once the economy recovers, that air traffic will pick back up again and congestion will return to where it was before, if not be worse."

Congestion, the report says, is not surprisingly a city problem.

The six worst cities for delays are New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta and San Francisco.

One solution, say researchers: give travelers an option. Such as high-speed rail as an alternative to short flights that crowd the system.

"We found that the short-haul flights less than 500 miles make up about half of the flights in this country. We think that there could possibly be a rail alternative to that. It's not a silver bullet," said Tomer.M

Airlines blame the FAA's air traffic control system for delays.

The planned switch from radar to satellites has hit snags in tests, and is still several years away.

The Brookings Report agrees with those findings.

"We have an antiquated system right now that has long been recognized as something that needs robust investment," said Tomer.

But researchers say relief could come sooner. Easing big city air traffic by charging fees for rush-hour flights, for instance or privatizing airports.

Proposals, the report says, would make air travel grow comfortably as the economy gains ground.

[southernnorthcarolina]

The biggest problem with air travel, especially in the congested Northeastern U.S., is the time consumed with surface transportation on both ends of the flight. If you're traveling from downtown New York, the cab or train ride to Laguardia often takes longer than the flight.

A new Central Park Airport is badly needed.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"[on-time arrivals are] likely to get worse as the economy gets better."

If Obama stays in office, this would seem to be problem that will take care of itself.

[Willie Green]

A new Central Park Airport is badly needed.

Then New Yorkers would have to spend up to two hours to get through Airport Security before they can get mugged.

[Darth Reardon]

We found that the short-haul flights less than 500 miles make up about half of the flights in this country. We think that there could possibly be a rail alternative to that. It's not a silver bullet,

How are they measuring a "flight"? The way the system is set up, most flights to/from non-major markets require a connection at a hub. When I fly the 1250 miles from Tampa to Cedar Rapids, I fly 810 miles to Chicago, then like 230 to CID (I know the numbers don't add up, 1250 is based on driving). So "half" of my flights are less than 500 miles if you count each leg as an individual flight, which I believe they do (there are flights with multiple legs, but in my experience I use one of the legs more often than the rare case when I actually take both legs). I'm not going to fly to Chicago and then take a train.

[Willie Green]

How are they measuring a "flight"?

You go up once, and you come down once.
So each leg of your longer trip would each be considered a separate "flight".

When I fly the 1250 miles from Tampa to Cedar Rapids, I fly 810 miles to Chicago, then like 230 to CID

So in your example, you would still fly 810 miles Tampa to Chicago; but then it would be more efficient to transfer to high-speed rail for the final leg to Cedar Rapids.

That's why most of these high-speed rail and/or maglev proposals include stations at major metro airports: to make it easier for the traveling public to conveniently transfer to a different mode of transportation.