Future Flight A Review of the Small Aircraft Transportation System Concept -- Special Report 263 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3 - Air Transportation Challenges
3 - Air Transportation Challenges
Pages 50-77
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, and state and local aviation authorities. The main rationale for promoting SATS is that it could help alleviate congestion and delay in the commercial aviation sector and increase transportation options for people and businesses residing in many small and remote communities with limited access to airline service.
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FAA and the Air Trans port Association, which represents major airlines, estimate that airlines and their pas sengers incurred more than $5 billion in delay-related costs.2 Recurrent delays and the unpredictability of schedules in the commercial aviation system are major problems for airlines and air travelers. The growing popularity of business jets and the introduction of fractional ownership programs are attributable in part to the desire of some travelers to obtain more reliable service and, in some cases, to avoid the crowds and congestion at major airports.
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From page 52... ...
The use of hub-and-spoke systems affects the incidence and severity of delays. Although these systems have proved to be highly efficient in configuring air trans portation networks, they contribute to the strains placed on the national airspace 4 See April 2001 release of DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report, available on DOT's website.
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Paul Denver Percent of All U.S. Airline Passenger Enplanements Detroit San Francisco Percent of Delays at All 31 of Largest U.S.
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100% 80% Other ATC Equipment Failure Closed Runway 60% Traffic Volume 0552-04 Ch03 5/2/02 2:31 PM Page 54 Weather 40% Percentage of Total by Cause 20% 0% 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Year Figure 3-2 Causes of flight delays in the national air traffic control system, 1996–2000. [Source: OPSNET data (FAA 2000a)
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. Like wise, the number of airline operations managed by traffic control towers is expected to rise by 30 percent in total and at even higher rates at several major airports, such as Atlanta, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
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International Airport. (Source: FAA 2000a.)
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Inclement weather can also limit the simulta neous use of parallel runways, which can substantially reduce operational capacity at some major airports. Certain improvements in air traffic control technologies and procedures are being advocated because of their purported ability to increase the capacity of terminal airspace 5 FAA's Airport Capacity Benchmarking and National Choke Points initiatives are both examples of the agency's intentions to enhance capacity through targeted improvements in airports and air traffic control operations.
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Dallas/Ft. Worth Denver Chicago O'Hare Atlanta Memphis Pittsburgh Los Angeles Orlando Detroit Charlotte Salt Lake City Miami Cincinnati 0552-04 Ch03 5/2/02 2:31 PM Page 58 Honolulu Boston Houston Intercontinental Washington Dulles Minneapolis/St.
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Though they may not be practical or politically fea sible today, the use of congestion-based landing fees and other economic incentives may become more acceptable over time to relieve congestion and reduce costs result ing from travel delay. Relevant Findings Recurrent delays in airline flights have prompted much debate about how to allevi ate this problem and make air travel more reliable and convenient for passengers.
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Within a few years after deregulation, more than 100 regional and commuter airlines, most nonexistent a decade earlier, were offering scheduled air service in hundreds of small, medium, and large airports. Moreover, Congress, con cerned about the potential withdrawal of airline service from small communities, established the Essential Air Service (EAS)
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About 3 percent of all passenger trips by commercial airline originate at airports that do not offer large-jet service, and about 1 in 10 of these trips originates in the very smallest 200 commercial airports (see Figure 3-5)
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Many of these counties and cities are adjacent, and they often share an airport with scheduled air service because of the economies that such consolidation can generate. To illustrate, the southern Texas cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen are comparable in population and are located within 60 miles of one another.
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1 4 1:06 1 BE1 (turboprop) 206 Destination City Is Largest City Between 301 and 500 Miles of Small City c Brunswick, GA, to Miami (383 miles)
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While EAS cities have received subsidized commuter airline service for years, most average only a handful of passengers per day, even with subsidies that average between $100 and $300 per passenger.8 Relevant Findings More than half the commercial airports in the United States are in small cities that receive scheduled air service through commuter airlines. For the most part, this ser vice is oriented toward providing feeder traffic to larger airports served by major air lines operating national hub-and-spoke route networks.
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From page 65... ...
In contrast, remote small cities with at least 20,000 residents tend to have scheduled airline ser vice at their local airports, since larger airports are too distant to be competitive. Because business travelers place a high value on time, some small communities without scheduled air service worry that other cities in their region with such ser vice have an advantage in competing for businesses and economic development.
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[Sources: NTSB 2000; NTSB online Table 10 (www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table10.htm)
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Because pilot deci sions affect the course and severity of most aviation accidents, pilot performance is frequently cited as an accident cause or a contributing factor. Indeed, NTSB cited pilot performance as a causal or contributing factor in 82 percent of all GA accidents from 1993 to 1997.
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of airline accidents, they account for a large majority of GA and air taxi accidents. It is noteworthy that airline and corporate aircraft, which have the lowest accident rates, are typically two-pilot operations, unlike most GA and air 12 The "large carrier" grouping includes major passenger and cargo airlines with scheduled service, as well as any other carriers using large aircraft for scheduled and charter passenger or cargo service.
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Accident rates based on departures are not available because of limited data on GA departures. [Sources: NTSB 1999; NTSB 2000; NTSB online Tables 9 and 10 (www.ntsb.gov/aviation)
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For instance, a 1,000-foot run way extension at a GA airport situated near wetlands can engender more environmen tal scrutiny than the construction of a new runway at a much larger hub. As commercial aviation activity has increased dramatically, so has concern about the environmental impacts associated with airport footprints and operational 70
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, impairment of water quality in surface and underground sources resulting from the use of hazardous substances at airports, and adverse effects on the habitats of species protected and given other special status by federal and state statutes. Aircraft Noise As airport activity increased and larger jets began operating in the nation's urban air ports during the 1960s, the communities near airports became increasingly effective in conveying their concerns about noise.
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Within urban air basins designated as nonattainment, airports are significant sources of criteria pollutant emissions, from both stationary sources (fuel storage and distribution systems, boil ers) and mobile sources (aircraft, on-road vehicles, ground support equipment)
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From page 73... ...
Moreover, airport development projects that require action by FAA, such as approval of funding or airport layout plans, must be in conformity with the applicable SIPs before FAA can approve the project. In general, if modest increases in criteria pollutant emissions are anticipated from an airport project requiring federal action or approval and FAA determines that the applicable thresholds for particular pollutants would be exceeded, additional analysis or mitigation may be required to secure acceptance.
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Airlines continue to seek changes in operating practices, especially air traffic routings and con trol procedures that will produce additional savings in fuel consumption. At the same time, the conversion to turbine aircraft in the business aviation and commuter airline industries has had implications for fuel usage, since turbine aircraft use several times more fuel per operating hour than do piston-engine aircraft.
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Not all small and remote communities, however, have scheduled service at their local airports; travelers in these communities often must drive to other airports in the region for access to scheduled service. Airlines have learned to balance the traveling public's preference for convenient and accessible local air service with the desire for frequent flights, faster and more comfortable aircraft, 75
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From page 76... ...
Spreading passenger traffic over many small airports in a region raises the prospect of no single airport generating passenger volumes sufficient to support fre quent flights or minimum facilities and services. Aviation Safety Aircraft accidents, especially by air carriers, are often high-profile events, affecting the public's overall perceptions of aviation safety.
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1999. National Research and Development Plan for Aviation Safety, Security, Efficiency, and Environmental Compatibility.
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