Despite airline industry threats of a lawsuit to block any changes in the way airports calculate landing fees, the Transportation Department last week officially embraced congestion-based fees.
The policy change would allow congested airports to move away from the decades-old practice of charging aircraft landing fees based simply on the weight of the plane. Instead, airports would have the flexibility to set charges based on the time of day and the volume of traffic.
"This is pricing that affects congestion; this is not congestion pricing," said DOT General Counsel D.J. Gribbin.
The new policy also would allow airport authorities to distribute the fees among their airports. Fees from New York's Kennedy Airport, for example, could be used for airport projects at Newark or underused Stewart Airport (about 55 miles north of New York City).
The airline industry immediately denounced the proposed changes when the DOT first announced its intention to amend the policy this year. The Air Transport Association called the plan "nothing more than congestion pricing disguised as an airport fee."
Gribbin said the new policy was revenue-neutral insofar as airports won't see any more revenue from the changes. But the changes will shift the burden of paying higher fees from larger, heavier aircraft to smaller ones, like regional jets that land during times of peak congestion. The idea is to force those carriers to land when the airports are less congested.
The new policy was scheduled to start in March, but the airlines opposed the plan and were granted a 30-day extension to comment.
In April, ATA President James May sent a letter to DOT Secretary Mary Peters questioning the legality of the proposal. The group did not rule out a lawsuit at the time.
"I'm not sure whether they'll sue on the rates and charges policy or not," Gribbin said. "Carriers were not wildly enthusiastic about it. Airports didn't think we went far enough."
Airports Council International-North America commended the policy changes.
"We're pleased that Secretary Peters has recognized that airport proprietors are in the best position to manage the use of the facilities they planned, financed, built and currently operate," said ACI-NA President Greg Principato.
Besides the policy change, Peters announced that the Federal Aviation Administration and the X Prize Foundation would lead a competition to develop a renewable alternative to jet fuel. The terms of the competition and the amount of the prize will be determined in coming months.