FAA may extend O'Hare plan

By John Hughes
Bloomberg News Service

The government may extend an agreement reducing American Airlines and United Airlines flights in peak periods at Chicago's O'Hare airport to cut delays, Marion Blakey, head of the Federal Aviation Administration said.

"I'd like to think the current agreement will be so successful that everyone will want to move forward with a voluntary extension," Blakey told reporters in Washington. "That would be a desirable outcome."

AMR Corp.'s American and UAL Corp.'s United, the world's two largest airlines, last month agreed to cut O'Hare flights 6 percent between midnight and 8 p.m. from Nov. 1 through April 30. It was an extension of limits that began in March.

About 35 percent of O'Hare flights arrived late or were canceled this year through July, making it the most congested U.S. airport. O'Hare is the largest base of operations for Chicago-based United and the second largest for American after Dallas-Fort Worth, where American is based. The two carriers account for 86 percent of the flights at O'Hare.

Blakey didn't say how long of an extension she may seek. Another option is to propose a regulation, though it is too soon to speculate what it would say, she said. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation subcommittee held a hearing today on O'Hare reduction efforts.