- Aug 20, 2002
- 889
- 0
With all the hoopla that RJ's will be the saviors of the airline industry, could they actually create a bigger mess, more delays with ATC and disgruntled customers?
This is from the Chicago Tribune:
Regional jets jam O'Hare
The nation's two largest airlines are set to trim flights at O'Hare International Airport in March to ease delays, but the intense escalation of the use of smaller jets will make it difficult to notice any congestion relief, aviation experts say.
Regional jets, with 35 to 70 seats, account for more than 40 percent of the 1,400 daily departures at O'Hare, up from less than one-third of flights two years ago when flight caps at the airport were lifted, according to an analysis of data in the Official Airline Guide.
The number of daily regional-jet departures by United Express, United Airlines' commuter affiliate, has soared 111 percent at O'Hare since 2002, the data showed.
The small planes allow for more flights to mid-size communities while containing labor and operating costs. But they use the same runways as jumbo jets carrying 300 passengers, and they require parking gates and the same amount of air-traffic control. In some cases they require even more, because regional jets need extra spacing in the air to avoid turbulence from bigger planes.
In March, United and American, which account for 88 percent of O'Hare's flights, will reduce their schedules 5 percent during peak hours, including cuts in some regional-jet flights.
The swarm of regional jets buzzing in and out of O'Hare shoved the airport into last place in November for on-time performance in the U.S.
"The airlines are in a rush to get more small airplanes because more frequent flights help them dominate [travel] markets and they think it's giving the customers what they want," said David Aldrich, an American Airlines captain who is a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.
"But it's a terrible way to utilize limited airspace and crowded airports."
Making things worse
The airlines have turned to the smaller aircraft to help solve their immediate financial crisis by lowering costs. But the move is exacerbating congestion and does not offer long-term strategies to deal with projected growth in air travel.
United Express saturated O'Hare with an average of 292 regional-jet departures scheduled each day through the first three months of 2004, compared with only 138 such flights in the first quarter of 2002.
The number of United Airlines departures using 737s and larger aircraft--which carry two to six times the number of passengers as regional jets--increased only 2 percent at O'Hare in the same period, according to the data tabulated for the Tribune by consultant BACK Aviation Solutions.
The number of daily regional-jet departures by American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, has grown 39 percent at O'Hare since 2002, the data showed. For American Eagle, it means 225 regional-jet departures a day now, compared with an average of 161 two years ago, the analysis showed.
Full article (registration required):
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/c...1,6250918.story
This is from the Chicago Tribune:
Regional jets jam O'Hare
The nation's two largest airlines are set to trim flights at O'Hare International Airport in March to ease delays, but the intense escalation of the use of smaller jets will make it difficult to notice any congestion relief, aviation experts say.
Regional jets, with 35 to 70 seats, account for more than 40 percent of the 1,400 daily departures at O'Hare, up from less than one-third of flights two years ago when flight caps at the airport were lifted, according to an analysis of data in the Official Airline Guide.
The number of daily regional-jet departures by United Express, United Airlines' commuter affiliate, has soared 111 percent at O'Hare since 2002, the data showed.
The small planes allow for more flights to mid-size communities while containing labor and operating costs. But they use the same runways as jumbo jets carrying 300 passengers, and they require parking gates and the same amount of air-traffic control. In some cases they require even more, because regional jets need extra spacing in the air to avoid turbulence from bigger planes.
In March, United and American, which account for 88 percent of O'Hare's flights, will reduce their schedules 5 percent during peak hours, including cuts in some regional-jet flights.
The swarm of regional jets buzzing in and out of O'Hare shoved the airport into last place in November for on-time performance in the U.S.
"The airlines are in a rush to get more small airplanes because more frequent flights help them dominate [travel] markets and they think it's giving the customers what they want," said David Aldrich, an American Airlines captain who is a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.
"But it's a terrible way to utilize limited airspace and crowded airports."
Making things worse
The airlines have turned to the smaller aircraft to help solve their immediate financial crisis by lowering costs. But the move is exacerbating congestion and does not offer long-term strategies to deal with projected growth in air travel.
United Express saturated O'Hare with an average of 292 regional-jet departures scheduled each day through the first three months of 2004, compared with only 138 such flights in the first quarter of 2002.
The number of United Airlines departures using 737s and larger aircraft--which carry two to six times the number of passengers as regional jets--increased only 2 percent at O'Hare in the same period, according to the data tabulated for the Tribune by consultant BACK Aviation Solutions.
The number of daily regional-jet departures by American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, has grown 39 percent at O'Hare since 2002, the data showed. For American Eagle, it means 225 regional-jet departures a day now, compared with an average of 161 two years ago, the analysis showed.
Full article (registration required):
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/c...1,6250918.story
