Wall Street Journal

2018-04-12
Carriers battle over airports

Major U.S. airlines and local officials are planning approximately $100 billion in airport renovations over the next several years, with projects underway or proposed at airports including Seattle-Tacoma, Los Angeles, O'Hare, and LaGuardia. Airlines like American, United, and Delta are playing a central role in funding these upgrades — either paying directly or making long-term service commitments that back municipal bond issues. Competition between carriers over gate allocations and construction priorities has at times stalled negotiations, as seen when American Airlines challenged United's favored position in Chicago's $8.5 billion O'Hare expansion plan.

TagsAirline Industry, Airport Expansion, Delta, O'Hare, Wall Street Journal
2018-04-12
Carriers Battle Over Airports

Airlines compete over airport expansion plans, with American Airlines agreeing to an $8.5 billion O’Hare renovation after disputes with United over gate allocation. The article details $100 billion in planned airport renovations nationwide and how airlines negotiate funding and benefits from these upgrades.

TagsAirport Expansion, Delta, O'Hare, United Airlines, Wall Street Journal

As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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