Saturday, September 1, 2007

I was disappointed by the Aug. 22 editorial "Late, Again."

Air traffic control's workload is not the principal bottleneck. Separating traffic en route occupies relatively little controller time. Airliners fly at altitudes beyond the reach of almost the entire general aviation fleet and mostly need separation from each other.

Congestion becomes a problem in terminal areas -- the corridors to and from runways through which all air traffic is funneled. Here, too, airlines have the playground almost entirely to themselves. Privately owned aircraft add negligible amounts of traffic to the busiest airports. Most use quieter outlying fields -- Manassas Regional Airport rather than Dulles International, Teterboro Airport in New Jersey instead of John F. Kennedy International in New York.

The culprits behind overloaded airline hubs are the airlines themselves.

Since gaining authority over takeoff and landing times, they've tried to save fuel by flying smaller jets more frequently. They routinely schedule more flights than the airports can handle in perfect conditions. Surprise!

Delays result, especially when conditions aren't perfect.

As for the Federal Aviation Administration proposal placing a greater funding burden on operators of business jets, those folks already pay their fair share through fuel taxes. The Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office and the House Transportation Committee have all concluded that the current combination of taxes on fuel and tickets yields enough for both current operations and long-term modernization.

Airline travel has been wrecked by the industry's own decisions. Now the airlines are desperate to make someone else pay for their mistakes.

-- David Jack Kenny

Falls Church

The writer is a commercial pilot based at Manassas Regional Airport.