A proposal issued late last month by the US Federal Aviation Administration seeks to compel carriers to operate larger aircraft at New York LaGuardia from 1 January 2007, resulting in a reduction of regional jet services at the airport, writes Mary Kirby.
The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) comes less than four months before the FAA's current slot control programme at LaGuardia - known as the high-density rule (HDR) - is to expire. However, the FAA will maintain the current hourly cap of 75 scheduled operations an hour at LaGuardia.
To offset the effect of the cap, the FAA proposes to implement an airport-wide, average aircraft size requirement at LaGuardia that is "designed to increase the number of passengers that may use the airport within the overall proposed operational limits".
At present, aircraft operating at LaGuardia have an average 98-seat capacity. A larger 105- to 122-seat range is being targeted, although the exact figure will depend on a number of factors, including how the FAA rules on various proposed exemptions for small community air services.
"The use of commuter equipment [aircraft with fewer than 71 seats] arriving at LaGuardia from medium- and large-hub airports has increased by more than 50% since August 2001. This trend has resulted in the underutilisation of airport facilities," says the FAA.
Promoting larger aircraft "is the only means to increase passenger access to LaGuardia", the FAA says, adding that studies show that upgrading from regional jets to narrowbodies "could result in increased passenger throughput without negative impact" to airport operations and flight delays.
If the rule is adopted, airlines will be given two years to meet the proposed new average seating capacity for aircraft operated at LaGuardia.
Source: Flight International
