Travelers Can Expect Usual Problems This Holiday
AVIATION
The Norwalk Hour
Kelly Carroll
Boston University Washington News Service
11/15/2007
WASHINGTON – Congress is warning Americans to prepare for an unprecedented volume of air travel over this Thanksgiving holiday.
Travelers can expect many of the same problems as in past years, including delays and weather-related problems, members of the House Subcommittee on Aviation were told at a hearing Thursday on what is being done by airports and airlines to ensure customer satisfaction.
“Consumers have been left in a lurch by congestion,” said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the senior minority member of the parent Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Airlines have to step up to the plate to deal with consumers that have been abused.”
According to Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), chairman of the subcommittee, the Air Transportation Association is predicting that 27.3 million passengers will fly over the Thanksgiving holiday, from Friday through Nov. 27. This is an increase of almost four percent from last year. The association also is predicting that just more than two million people will fly per day and that planes will be filled to 90 percent capacity.
“Airports are especially cognizant of the increase of passenger traffic during the holiday period,” said Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International for the North American region. “Airports have systems in place to address issues that may arise with increased airport congestion, long passenger waiting lines and delayed flights.”
Donna Greene, a member of the communications staff for the government of Westchester County, N.Y., said in a telephone interview that during the holidays parking is going to be the biggest problem at Westchester County Airport, a little more than 20 miles from Norwalk. Greene cited the airport’s limited parking capacity and said that with the recent addition of service by JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways, parking at the airport will be virtually impossible.
At Hartford’s Bradley International Airport, however, the situation is different.
John Wallace, director of media relations for Bradley, advised in a telephone interview that passengers get to the airport an hour to an hour and a half before their flights but insisted that the situation over the holiday will be “pretty much business as usual.”
“We know its coming,” he said. “Everybody will work together to make it work.”
In his testimony, Principato outlined customer service initiatives that have been put in use for the holidays. These include earlier passenger notification of any problems through the World Wide Web and local media outlets, advance reminders of what is and is not allowed through security checkpoints, increased airport concessions for customer comfort, snow removal in harsher weather and infrastructure and parking maintenance.
In addition to the steps airports are taking, President Bush announced on Thursday that the Pentagon will open unused military airspace for commercial flights from Wednesday through Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration says that flight delays are up 20 percent since 2006, a number that is as high as 50 percent at some of the nation’s busier airports. With the increase in the number of people flying, airlines and airports are expecting not only a busy holiday season, but increased air travel from now on.
“This holiday season is going to be a snapshot of what every day is going to be like,” Principato said. “And we need to prepare for that.”
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