1 Billion air travellers forecast by 2015

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


[ Tell us some things we don't already know... -Ed. ]


A Billion Air Travelers Forecast for 2015
Mar 18, 5:31 AM (ET)
By LESLIE MILLER

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 1 billion people a year will be boarding
planes in the United States within a decade, nearly half again as many
as those now using an aviation system showing signs of being
overburdened.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which released the forecast
Thursday, faces spending cuts for runways, air traffic control
equipment and buildings. But the agency's administrator, Marion
Blakey, said she was confident there would be enough money to
accommodate the dramatic growth in air traffic.

"We are redesigning airspace, deploying new software that will help
increase capacity, and putting new procedures in place," Blakey said.
"We will be ready."

Lawmakers and aviation advocates were not so sure.

Building is not keeping up with the increase in passengers, said David
Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "That just
spells congestion and delays for passengers."

Already, flights have been limited at Chicago's O'Hare International
Airport because too many planes were trying to take off and land,
causing delays throughout the country. The FAA negotiated an agreement
with airlines to cut 37 daily flights and limit the number of domestic
arrivals to 88 an hour between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Ruth Marlin, executive vice president of the air traffic controllers
union, said many passengers will do a lot of waiting in 2015 if things
do not change.

"The FAA is trying to do more and more with less and less and that is
putting an incredible strain on the system," she said.

Sen. Christopher Bond, chairman of the Senate Appropriations
subcommittee that oversees transportation spending, has expressed
disappointment in the Bush administration's budget proposal for 2006.
It would cut money for airport construction and runways by $500
million next year, to $3 billion.

"I am at a loss to understand why this program remains in the sights
of the budget gnomes," Bond, R-Mo., said at a hearing this week.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the subcommittee, pointed out
the administration has proposed $77 million in cuts for air traffic
control modernization, in addition to $400 million cut this year. In
2004, the FAA was authorized to spend $2.9 billion.

"All indications are that air traffic will continue to grow," said
Murray, D-Wash. "Yet the Bush administration has decided that now is
the time to impose dramatic cuts in our investment at improving safety
and expanding capacity at our airports."

David Plavin, president of the Airports Council International-North
America, said the problem is not just the increase in passenger
traffic, but that planes are getting smaller. Small planes place just
as much a burden on the air traffic system as large planes.

"FAA is chronically underfunded," said Plavin, whose group represents
airports. "Some air traffic control towers are chronically
understaffed."

But Blakey said the dollars for airport runways and buildings would
still be twice what it was in the late 1990s, when airports received
about $1.5 billion. In September, she said, the FAA assessed airport
authorities capital needs and found they were 15 percent lower than
the year before.

The FAA, which forecast a 45 percent passenger increase by 2015, also
said:

_Traditional big airlines such as United and American will grow at a
sluggish pace, with the number of passengers increasing by 2.8 percent
annually over the next 12 years.

_Regional carriers, which fly planes with 70 or fewer seats, and
international travel will fuel the increase in commercial aviation.

_The number of passengers on regional airlines will increase 15.4
percent next year.

_The number of passengers flying to and from the United States on
domestic airlines will increase an average of 5 percent annually over
the next 12 years.

---

On the Net:

A Web graphic showing estimated passenger loads is available at:

http://wid.ap.org/interactives/airtraffic.html

Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov

Airports Council International-North America: http://www.aci-na.org

National Air Traffic Controllers Association: http://www.natca.org


BL.
- --
Brad Littlejohn | Email:
Unix Systems Administrator, |
Web + NewsMaster, BOFH.. Smeghead! | http://www.sbcglobal.net/~tyketto
PGP: 1024D/E319F0BF 6980 AAD6 7329 E9E6 D569 F620 C819 199A E319 F0BF

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFCOyeoyBkZmuMZ8L8RAj6hAJ9DkyuJ4hown/oMvD8JEGx4Jh7xfQCePVgB
2WVo8KmBjV4p7azCHz15DlI=
=sxty
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----