51650 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 

1Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at John F. 

Kennedy International Airport, 73 FR 3,510 (Jan. 18, 

2008); 73 FR 8,737 (Feb. 14, 2008)(amendment to 

order). 

identification number to each Operating 

Authorization. 

6. A carrier holding an Operating 

Authorization may request the 

Administrator’s approval to move any 

arrival or departure scheduled from 6 

a.m. through 10:59 p.m. to another half 

hour within that period. Except as 

provided in paragraph seven, the carrier 

must receive the written approval of the 

Administrator, or his delegate, prior to 

conducting any scheduled arrival or 

departure that is not listed in the 

appendix to this Order. All requests to 

move an allocated Operating 

Authorization must be submitted to the 

FAA Slot Administration Office, 

facsimile (202) 267–7277 or e-mail 7– 

AWA–Slotadmin@faa.gov, and must 

come from a designated representative 

of the carrier. If the FAA cannot approve 

a carrier’s request to move a scheduled 

arrival or departure, the carrier may 

then apply for a trade in accordance 

with paragraph seven. 

7. For the duration of this order, a 

carrier may enter into a lease or trade of 

an Operating Authorization to another 

carrier for any consideration. Notice of 

a trade or lease under this paragraph 

must be submitted in writing to the FAA 

Slot Administration Office, facsimile 

(202) 267–7277 or e-mail 7–AWA– 

Slotadmin@faa.gov, and must come 

from a designated representative of each 

carrier. The FAA must confirm and 

approve these transactions in writing 

prior to the effective date of the 

transaction. The FAA will approve 

transfers between carriers under the 

same marketing control up to five 

business days after the actual operation, 

but only to accommodate operational 

disruptions that occur on the same day 

of the scheduled operation. The FAA’s 

approval of a trade or lease does not 

constitute a commitment by the FAA to 

grant the associated historical rights to 

any operator in the event that slot 

controls continue at EWR after this 

order expires. 

8. A carrier may not buy, sell, trade, 

or transfer an Operating Authorization, 

except as described in paragraph seven. 

9. Historical rights to Operating 

Authorizations and withdrawal of those 

rights due to insufficient usage will be 

determined on a seasonal basis and in 

accordance with the schedule approved 

by the FAA prior to the commencement 

of the applicable season. 

a. For each day of the week that the 

FAA has approved an operating 

schedule, any Operating Authorization 

not used at least 80% of the time over 

the period authorized by the FAA under 

this paragraph will be withdrawn by the 

FAA for the next applicable season 

except: 

i. The FAA will treat as used any 

Operating Authorization held by a 

carrier on Thanksgiving Day, the Friday 

following Thanksgiving Day, and the 

period from December 24 through the 

first Saturday in January. 

ii. The Administrator of the FAA may 

waive the 80% usage requirement in the 

event of a highly unusual and 

unpredictable condition which is 

beyond the control of the carrier and 

which affects carrier operations for a 

period of five consecutive days or more. 

b. Each carrier holding an Operating 

Authorization must forward in writing 

to the FAA Slot Administration Office a 

list of all Operating Authorizations held 

by the carrier and for each Operating 

Authorization, along with a listing of 

the Operating Authorizations and: 

i. The dates within each applicable 

season on which it intends to 

commence and to cease scheduled 

operations. 

A. For each winter scheduling season, 

the report must be received by the FAA 

no later than August 15 during the 

preceding summer. 

B. For each summer scheduling 

season, the report must be received by 

the FAA no later than January 15 during 

the preceding winter. 

ii. The completed operations for each 

day of the applicable scheduling season: 

A. No later than September 1 for the 

summer scheduling season. 

B. No later than January 15 for the 

winter scheduling season. 

iii. A final report of the completed 

operations for each day of the 

scheduling season within 30 days after 

the last day of the applicable scheduling 

season. 

10. In the event that a carrier 

surrenders to the FAA any Operating 

Authorization assigned to it under this 

Order or if there are unallocated 

Operating Authorizations, the FAA will 

determine whether the Operating 

Authorizations should be reallocated. 

The FAA may temporarily allocate an 

Operating Authorization at its 

discretion. Such temporary allocations 

will not be entitled to historical status 

for the next applicable scheduling 

season under paragraph 9. 

11. If the FAA determines that an 

involuntary reduction in the number of 

allocated Operating Authorizations is 

required to meet operational needs, 

such as reduced airport capacity, the 

FAA will conduct a weighted lottery to 

withdraw Operating Authorizations to 

meet a reduced hourly or half-hourly 

limit for scheduled operations. The FAA 

will provide at least 45 days’ notice 

unless otherwise required by 

operational needs. Any Operating 

Authorization that is withdrawn or 

temporarily suspended will, if 

reallocated, be reallocated to the carrier 

from which it was taken, provided that 

the carrier continues to operate 

scheduled service at EWR. 

12. The FAA will enforce this Order 

through an enforcement action seeking 

a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. 46301(a). 

A carrier that is not a small business as 

defined in the Small Business Act, 15 

U.S.C. 632, will be liable for a civil 

penalty of up to $25,000 for every day 

that it violates the limits set forth in this 

Order. A carrier that is a small business 

as defined in the Small Business Act 

will be liable for a civil penalty of up 

to $10,000 for every day that it violates 

the limits set forth in this Order. The 

FAA also could file a civil action in U.S. 

District Court, under 49 U.S.C. 46106, 

46107, seeking to enjoin any air carrier 

from violating the terms of this Order. 

13. The FAA may modify or withdraw 

any provision in this Order on its own 

or on application by any carrier for good 

cause shown. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 

2009. 

J. Randolph Babbitt, 

Administrator, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24118 Filed 10–2–09; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2007–29320] 

Operating Limitations at John F. 

Kennedy International Airport 

ACTION: Notice of order extending and 

modifying the limitations on scheduled 

operations at John F. Kennedy 

International Airport. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is amending the 

January 15, 2008, order limiting the 

number of scheduled aircraft operations 

at John F. Kennedy International Airport 

(JFK) during peak operating hours, as 

amended (January 2008 order).1 The 

amendment extends the January 2008 

order by approximately two years, 

through October 29, 2011. In addition, 

because the amendment extends the 

January 2008 order’s duration, the 

amendment clarifies that the FAA will 

not allocate new or returned capacity 

under the order via the auction 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 51651 

2 74 FR 27,059. 

3 73 FR at 3,516 (ordering paragraphs seven and 

eight) 

4 74 FR at 27,060 (‘‘any submission to the current 

docket should be limited to the proposed extension 

of the January 2008 order’’). 

5 73 FR at 3,514. 

procedure that the order originally 

described. 

If you wish to review the background 

documents or comments received in this 

proceeding, you may go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time and 

follow the online instructions for 

accessing the electronic docket. You 

may also go to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 on the ground floor of 

the West Building at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

DATES: These amendments to the 

January 2008 order are effective 

immediately upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 

Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; 

telephone—(202) 267–8323; e-mail— 

james.tegtmeier@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On June 5, 2009, the FAA published 

a notice that invited comments on its 

proposal to extend the January 2008 

order limiting scheduled operations at 

JFK.2 At the time, the January 2008 

order was scheduled to expire on 

October 24, 2009. For the reasons 

described in the notice, it was 

unrealistic to expect a long-term rule to 

take effect and control the significant 

congestion-related delays that the FAA 

anticipated would occur at JFK if the 

January 2008 order were to expire as 

originally scheduled. Given the 

uncertainty over when a final rule 

would take effect and the impending 

expiration of the January 2008 order, the 

FAA proposed to extend the January 

2008 order for approximately one year. 

The FAA expected the one-year 

extension of the January 2008 order to 

serve as at least a partial bridge to the 

implementation of a long-term measure 

to control congestion and related delays 

at JFK. The FAA received written 

submissions on the proposal from nine 

commenters. The commenters include 

six scheduled carriers, two industry 

organizations, and the airport operator. 

II. Summary and Analysis of the 

Comments 

A. Amended Duration 

Seven of the nine commenters express 

support for an extension of the January 

2008 order to prevent a return of the 

congestion-related delays that 

passengers previously experienced at 

JFK. Although the FAA proposed an 

extension of about one year, three 

carriers and one organizational 

commenter state that an extension of 

longer than one year is appropriate. 

While the specific observations and 

opinions of these four commenters 

differ, they variously assert that one 

year is not sufficient time either to 

create enough capacity at JFK to meet 

the demand or to finalize and 

implement a new rule to manage 

congestion at the airport. 

The FAA proposed a one-year 

extension of the January 2008 order 

because the FAA never intended the 

order to serve as a long-term solution to 

congestion at JFK. From this 

perspective, using the minimum 

number of short-term extensions would 

offer the benefit of regular and public 

status reports on where the FAA stands 

in establishing a longer-term solution to 

overscheduling at JFK. As the 

commenters note, however, such shortterm extensions may not best facilitate 

the long-term planning of some carriers 

that conduct, or hope to conduct, 

service at the airport. Accordingly, 

while the FAA does not agree that an 

indefinite extension is appropriate, the 

FAA will increase the duration of the 

present extension to about two years to 

accommodate carriers’ longer term 

planning. The January 2008 order, as 

amended, will now expire on October 

29, 2011. The reporting deadlines for 

carriers to return Operating 

Authorizations for all or part of a 

scheduling season in paragraph 9.b.i. 

are amended to reflect the longer 

duration of the order. These deadlines 

are also advanced by approximately two 

weeks to coincide with the deadlines in 

the International Air Transport 

Association’s Worldwide Scheduling 

Guidelines. 

B. Buy and Sell Authority 

In light of the increased duration of 

the January 2008 order, five commenters 

question the ban on the purchase, sale, 

or long-term lease of the Operating 

Authorizations held by virtue of the 

original order. The commenters reason 

that the FAA included the ban as a 

result of the January 2008 order’s short 

duration. The commenters perceive that 

extending the order increases the 

importance of a market mechanism that 

permits the sale and purchase of 

operating authority, which would 

facilitate competition and new entry, as 

well as leases for such authority that 

extend beyond the order’s expiration 

date. 

The FAA included in the January 

2008 order the ability of carriers to trade 

or to lease Operating Authorizations to 

other carriers; however, the duration of 

the trade or lease could not exceed the 

duration of the order.3 The commenters 

claim that relying on short-term trades 

and leases alone may become limiting as 

the January 2008 order remains effective 

over a significantly longer term. The 

proposed extension of the January 2008 

order, however, specifically limited the 

comments to the proposed extension.4

The FAA intends to address long-term 

transfers of Operating Authorizations at 

some point in the future. 

C. New Entrant and Limited Incumbent 

Opportunities 

One carrier, Virgin America, Inc., 

observes that the January 2008 order 

originally provided limited 

opportunities for new entrant and 

limited incumbent carriers to initiate or 

to augment their scheduled operations 

at JFK. Virgin America offers that any 

extension of the order should include 

enhancements that could increase 

service at the airport from new entrant 

and limited incumbent carriers. 

Virgin America is correct in noting 

that the extension of the January 2008 

order merits a revisitation of the 

opportunities that are available at JFK 

for new entrant and limited incumbent 

carriers.5 There are currently several 

avenues for carriers to conduct 

scheduled service, to acquire Operating 

Authorizations, or to adjust the timing 

of their Operating Authorizations at JFK. 

First, the January 2008 order is effective 

daily from 6 a.m. until 10:59 p.m., local 

time, and carriers can schedule 

additional operations during the hours 

that the January 2008 order is not in 

effect. Second, subject to FAA written 

approval, a carrier can request a new 

Operating Authorization or a shift of an 

existing Operating Authorization in any 

half hour that the order is in effect. 

Third, all carriers have the opportunity 

to lease or trade Operating 

Authorizations for any period not 

exceeding the duration of the January 

2008 order. Fourth, in the event that 

there is new capacity at JFK while the 

January 2008 order remains in effect, the 

order provides a mechanism under 

which carriers can bid on a leasehold 

interest in the new operations. 

After the January 2008 order took 

effect, Congress enacted the Omnibus 

Appropriations Act of 2009. In part, this 

statute precluded the use of 

appropriated funds to take any action 

involving the scheduling of airline 

operations if the action also involves the 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
51652 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 

6Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 

111–8, § 5, div. I, tit. I, § 115, 123 Stat. 524, 921– 

22. 

auctioning of permission to conduct 

airline operations at an airport.6

Because this language could be 

construed to preclude the FAA from 

eliciting bids from carriers to acquire a 

leasehold interest in newly available 

capacity, which is listed as the fourth 

alternative in the preceding paragraph, 

the FAA is withdrawing that provision, 

effective immediately. 

Accordingly, the ordering paragraphs 

of the January 2008 order are hereby 

amended as follows: 

1. This Order assigns operating 

authority to conduct an arrival or a 

departure at JFK during the affected 

hours to the U.S. air carrier or foreign 

air carrier identified in the appendix to 

this Order. The FAA will not assign 

operating authority under this Order to 

any person or entity other than a 

certificated U.S. or foreign air carrier 

with appropriate economic authority 

and FAA operating authority under 14 

CFR part 121, 129, or 135. This Order 

applies to the following: 

a. All U.S. air carriers and foreign air 

carriers conducting scheduled 

operations at JFK as of the date of this 

Order, any U.S. air carrier or foreign air 

carrier that operates under the same 

designator code as such a carrier, and 

any air carrier or foreign-flag carrier that 

has or enters into a codeshare agreement 

with such a carrier. 

b. All U.S. air carriers or foreign air 

carriers initiating scheduled or regularly 

conducted commercial service to JFK 

while this Order is in effect. 

c. The Chief Counsel of the FAA, in 

consultation with the Vice President, 

System Operations Services, is the final 

decisionmaker for determinations under 

this Order. 

2. This Order governs scheduled 

arrivals and departures at JFK from 6 

a.m. through 10:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Sunday through Saturday. 

3. This Order takes effect on March 

30, 2008, and expires at 11:59 p.m., 

Eastern Time, on October 29, 2011. 

4. Under the authority provided to the 

Secretary of Transportation and the 

FAA Administrator by 49 U.S.C. 40101, 

40103 and 40113, we hereby order that: 

a. No U.S. air carrier or foreign air 

carrier initiating or conducting 

scheduled or regularly conducted 

commercial service at JFK may conduct 

such operations without an Operating 

Authorization assigned by the FAA. 

b. Except as provided in the appendix 

to this Order, scheduled U.S. air carrier 

and foreign air carrier arrivals and 

departures will not exceed 81 per hour 

from 6 a.m. through 10:59 p.m., Eastern 

Time. 

c. The Administrator may change the 

limits if he determines that capacity 

exists to accommodate additional 

operations without a significant increase 

in delays. 

5. For administrative tracking 

purposes only, the FAA will assign an 

identification number to each Operating 

Authorization. 

6. A carrier holding an Operating 

Authorization may request the 

Administrator’s approval to move any 

arrival or departure scheduled from 6 

a.m. through 10:59 p.m. to another half 

hour within that period. Except as 

provided in paragraph seven, the carrier 

must receive the written approval of the 

Administrator, or his delegate, prior to 

conducting any scheduled arrival or 

departure that is not listed in the 

appendix to this Order. All requests to 

move an allocated Operating 

Authorization must be submitted to the 

FAA Slot Administration Office, 

facsimile (202) 267–7277 or e-mail 7- 

AWA-Slotadmin@faa.gov, and must 

come from a designated representative 

of the carrier. If the FAA cannot approve 

a carrier’s request to move a scheduled 

arrival or departure, the carrier may 

then apply for a trade in accordance 

with paragraph seven. 

7. For the duration of this order, a 

carrier may enter into a lease or trade of 

an Operating Authorization to another 

carrier for any consideration. Notice of 

a trade or lease under this paragraph 

must be submitted in writing to the FAA 

Slot Administration Office, facsimile 

(202) 267–7277 or e-mail 7-AWASlotadmin@faa.gov, and must come 

from a designated representative of each 

carrier. The FAA must confirm and 

approve these transactions in writing 

prior to the effective date of the 

transaction. The FAA will approve 

transfers between carriers under the 

same marketing control up to five 

business days after the actual operation, 

but only to accommodate operational 

disruptions that occur on the same day 

of the scheduled operation. The FAA’s 

approval of a trade or lease does not 

constitute a commitment by the FAA to 

grant the associated historical rights to 

any operator in the event that slot 

controls continue at JFK after this order 

expires. 

8. A carrier may not buy, sell, trade, 

or transfer an Operating Authorization, 

except as described in paragraph seven. 

9. Historical rights to Operating 

Authorizations and withdrawal of those 

rights due to insufficient usage will be 

determined on a seasonal basis and in 

accordance with the schedule approved 

by the FAA prior to the commencement 

of the applicable season. 

a. For each day of the week that the 

FAA has approved an operating 

schedule, any Operating Authorization 

not used at least 80% of the time over 

the time-frame authorized by the FAA 

under this paragraph will be withdrawn 

by the FAA for the next applicable 

season except: 

i. The FAA will treat as used any 

Operating Authorization held by a 

carrier on Thanksgiving Day, the Friday 

following Thanksgiving Day, and the 

period from December 24 through the 

first Saturday in January. 

ii. The Administrator of the FAA may 

waive the 80% usage requirement in the 

event of a highly unusual and 

unpredictable condition which is 

beyond the control of the carrier and 

which affects carrier operations for a 

period of five consecutive days or more. 

b. Each carrier holding an Operating 

Authorization must forward in writing 

to the FAA Slot Administration Office a 

list of all Operating Authorizations held 

by the carrier along with a listing of the 

Operating Authorizations and: 

i. The dates within each applicable 

season it intends to commence and 

complete operations. 

A. For each winter scheduling season, 

the report must be received by the FAA 

no later than August 15 during the 

preceding summer. 

B. For each summer scheduling 

season, the report must be received by 

the FAA no later than January 15 during 

the preceding winter. 

ii. The completed operations for each 

day of the applicable scheduling season: 

A. No later than September 1 for the 

summer scheduling season. 

B. No later than January 15 for the 

winter scheduling season. 

iii. The completed operations for each 

day of the scheduling season within 30 

days after the last day of the applicable 

scheduling season. 

10. In the event that a carrier 

surrenders to the FAA any Operating 

Authorization assigned to it under this 

Order or if there are unallocated 

Operating Authorizations, the FAA will 

determine whether the Operating 

Authorizations should be reallocated. 

The FAA may temporarily allocate an 

Operating Authorization at its 

discretion. Such temporary allocations 

will not be entitled to historical status 

for the next applicable scheduling 

season under paragraph 9. 

11. If the FAA determines that an 

involuntary reduction in the number of 

allocated Operating Authorizations is 

required to meet operational needs, 

such as reduced airport capacity, the 

FAA will conduct a weighted lottery to 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 7, 2009 / Notices 51653 

1Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia 

Airport, 71 FR 77,854 (Dec. 27, 2006); 72 FR 63,224 

(Nov. 8, 2007) ( transfer, minimum usage, and 

withdrawal amendments); 72 FR 48,428 (Aug. 19, 

2008) (reducing the reservations available for 

unscheduled operations); 74 FR 845 (Jan. 8, 2009) 

(extending the expiration date of the December 

2006 order until October 24, 2009); 74 FR 2,646 

(Jan. 15, 2009) (reducing the peak-hour cap on 

scheduled operations to 71). 2 74 FR 28,772. 

3 72 FR at 63,227 (ordering paragraph five). 

4 74 FR at 28,774 (‘‘any submission to the current 

docket should be limited to the proposed extension 

of the December 2006 order’’). 

withdraw Operating Authorizations to 

meet a reduced hourly or half-hourly 

limit for scheduled operations. The FAA 

will provide at least 45 days’ notice 

unless otherwise required by 

operational needs. Any Operating 

Authorization that is withdrawn or 

temporarily suspended will, if 

reallocated, be reallocated to the carrier 

from which it was taken, provided that 

the carrier continues to operate 

scheduled service at JFK. 

12. The FAA will enforce this Order 

through an enforcement action seeking 

a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. 46301(a). 

A carrier that is not a small business as 

defined in the Small Business Act, 15 

U.S.C. 632, will be liable for a civil 

penalty of up to $25,000 for every day 

that it violates the limits set forth in this 

Order. A carrier that is a small business 

as defined in the Small Business Act 

will be liable for a civil penalty of up 

to $10,000 for every day that it violates 

the limits set forth in this Order. The 

FAA also could file a civil action in U.S. 

District Court, under 49 U.S.C. 46106, 

46107, seeking to enjoin any air carrier 

from violating the terms of this Order. 

13. The FAA may modify or withdraw 

any provision in this Order on its own 

or on application by any carrier for good 

cause shown. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 

2009. 

J. Randolph Babbitt, 

Administrator, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24121 Filed 10–2–09; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–25755] 

Operating Limitations at LaGuardia 

Airport 

ACTION: Notice of Order Extending the 

Limitations on Operations at LaGuardia 

Airport. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is amending the 

December 13, 2006, order limiting the 

number of operations at LaGuardia 

Airport (LGA) during peak operating 

hours, as amended (December 2006 

order).1 The current amendment 

extends the December 2006 order by 

approximately two years, through 

October 29, 2011. 

If you wish to review the background 

documents or comments received in this 

proceeding, you may go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time and 

follow the online instructions for 

accessing the electronic docket. You 

may also go to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 on the ground floor of 

the West Building at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

DATES: These amendments to the 

December 2006 order are effective 

immediately upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief 

Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; 

telephone—(202) 267–8323; e-mail— 

james.tegtmeier@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On June 17, 2009, the FAA published 

a notice that invited comments on its 

proposal to extend the December 2006 

order limiting operations at LGA.2 At 

the time, the December 2006 order was 

scheduled to expire on October 24, 

2009. For the reasons described in the 

notice, it was unrealistic to expect a 

long-term rule to take effect and control 

the significant congestion-related delays 

that the FAA anticipated would occur at 

LGA if the December 2006 order were to 

expire as originally scheduled. Given 

the current uncertainty over when a 

final rule would take effect and the 

impending expiration of the December 

2006 order, the FAA proposed to extend 

the December 2006 order for 

approximately one year. 

The FAA expected the one-year 

extension to serve as at least a partial 

bridge to the implementation of a longterm measure to control congestion and 

related delays at LGA. The FAA 

received written submissions on the 

proposal from five commenters. The 

commenters include two scheduled 

carriers, two industry organizations, and 

the airport operator. 

II. Summary and Analysis of the 

Comments 

A. Amended Duration 

Four of the five commenters express 

support for an extension of the 

December 2006 order to prevent a return 

of the congestion-related delays that 

passengers previously experienced at 

LGA. Although the FAA proposed an 

extension of about one year, two of the 

commenters state that an extension of 

longer than one year is appropriate. 

These commenters assert that one year 

is not sufficient time to finalize and to 

implement a new rule to manage 

congestion at the airport. 

The FAA proposed a one-year 

extension of the December 2006 order 

because the FAA never intended the 

order to serve as a long-term solution to 

congestion at LGA. From this 

perspective, using the minimum 

number of short-term extensions would 

offer the benefit of regular and public 

status reports on where the FAA stands 

in establishing a longer-term solution to 

overscheduling at LGA. As the 

commenters note, however, such shortterm extensions may not best facilitate 

the long-term planning of some carriers 

that conduct, or hope to conduct, 

service at the airport. Accordingly, 

while the FAA does not agree that an 

indefinite extension is appropriate, the 

FAA will increase the duration of the 

present extension to about two years to 

accommodate carriers’ longer term 

planning. The December 2006 order will 

now expire on October 29, 2011. 

B. Buy and Sell Authority 

In light of the increased duration of 

the December 2006 order, three 

commenters question the ban on the 

purchase, sale, or long-term lease of the 

Operating Authorizations held by virtue 

of the original order. The commenters 

reason that the FAA included the ban as 

a result of the December 2006 order’s 

intended short duration. The 

commenters perceive that extending the 

order increases the importance of a 

market mechanism that permits the sale 

and purchase of operating authority, 

which would facilitate competition and 

new entry, as well as leases for such 

authority that extend beyond the order’s 

expiration date. 

The FAA included in the December 

2006 order the ability of carriers to trade 

or to lease Operating Authorizations to 

other carriers; however, the duration of 

the trade or lease could not exceed the 

duration of the order.3 The commenters 

claim that relying on short-term trades 

and leases alone may become limiting as 

the December 2006 order remains 

effective over a significantly longer 

term. The proposed extension of the 

December 2006 order, however, 

specifically limited the comments to the 

proposed extension.4 The FAA intends 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES