USA Today recently reported that U.S. airlines arrived late more often in the first four months of this year (2007) than in any other year since the government has been tracking these numbers thirteen years ago. According to the Department of Transportation, only 72% of domestic flights amongst the top twenty largest airlines arrived on time in these first four months. US Airways performed the worst with a 68% “on-time” rate. The problem lies in the fact that there are too many travelers, approximately 209 million, and not enough space to mobilize these people efficiently-there is a great need for more runways, taxiways, and gates.
So what exactly are possible solutions to this problem? First and foremost, federal regulators say that there needs to be at least four new airports built in the next twenty to thirty years. In fact, in the past forty years, there have only been two new additional major airports: Dallas Fort Worth and Denver International. Secondly, these commercial airlines could benefit from advanced global satellite positioning systems to track aircraft, which would cost approximately $15-20 billion. Better tracking will enable airplanes to maneuver in and out of airports more efficiently. Money could also be invested in increasing the number of runways on existing airports, especially in major hubs. A lot of time is wasted waiting taxiing on runways waiting for other planes to take off. In addition, Congress should offer tax incentives to spur the development and production of small private aircraft carriers, which would decrease the amount of traffic in large airports.
Air travel is a $1.2 trillion dollar industry in the U.S. and in order to support its constant growth, actions need to take place in terms of improving air travel. Airlines also need to refocus their attention on focusing on the customers rather than trying to cram as many people in one cabin as possible.
