Federal Aviation

Administration

Memorandum

Date: January 28, 2015

To: Docket No. FAA-2014-1073

From: Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation Administration

Subject: Record of meeting

On January 28, 2015, staff from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) met with staff from the United States Senate Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and 

Security, and the United States House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation to provide an overview of the “Slot Management and 

Transparency for LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty 

International Airport” notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register January 

8, 2015 (80 FR 1273).

Persons in attendance are listed below:

Committee staff:

• Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security- Majority: Bailey 

Edwards, Suzanne Gillen, Michael Beavin

• Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security- Minority: Jenny 

Solomon, Tom Chapman, Doug MacIvor 

• House Subcommittee on Aviation- Majority: Naveen Rao

DOT and FAA staff:

• DOT- Peter Irvine, Anne Bechdolt, AJ Muldoon, Steve Osit

• FAA: Jana Lozano, Rob Hawks, Bonnie Dragotto, Susan Pfingstler, Raquel Girvin

The presentation provided by DOT and FAA staff to the two Subcommittees is attached.

Attachment
Presented to:

By:

Date:

Federal Aviation

Administration Slot Management and 

Transparency for 

LaGuardia Airport, John F. 

Kennedy International 

Airport, and Newark 

Liberty International 

Airport NPRM

Senate Commerce Committee, Aviation 

Subcommittee--- Majority Staff

Raquel Girvin, FAA / Peter Irvine, DOT 

January 28, 2015
Federal Aviation

Administration

BACKGROUND

• The Slot Management and Transparency for 

LaGuardia Airport (LGA), John F. Kennedy 

International Airport (JFK), and Newark Liberty 

International Airport (EWR) proposed rule would 

replace the temporary Orders limiting scheduled 

operations at these three airports. 

• The temporary Orders have previously been 

extended until October 29, 2016. The Orders were 

last extended in March 2014. 

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Rationale for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• The combination of high demand and limited capacity at JFK, 

EWR, and LGA has forced the FAA to address the issue: how 

can the agency manage delays while providing some measure 

of access to carriers wishing to operate at the airport, thus 

encouraging competition? This proposal attempts to address 

this issue. 

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Rationale for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• The FAA will continue to monitor whether changes 

in airspace and airport capacity are long-term 

trends that warrant adjustment of the scheduling 

limits at one or more airports.

• Ongoing implementation of the New York/New 

Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace 

Redesign project and Next Generation Air 

Transportation System technologies will reduce 

congestion and delays at the New York City-area 

airports over time.

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Hourly and Daily Slot Limits

• Slot Limits: Hourly Slot Limits would remain unchanged from the existing Orders. Limits to 

unscheduled operations would remain the same at LaGuardia and become effective at JFK 

and EWR. The limits under the NPRM would be as follows: 

o JFK: 81 scheduled operations per hour & 2 unscheduled operations per hour. (Daily 0600 to 

2259);

o EWR: 81 scheduled operations per hour & 1 unscheduled operation per hour. (Daily 0600 to 

2259);

o LGA: 71 scheduled operations per hour & 3 unscheduled operations per hour (M-F 0600 to 

2159 & Sundays 1200 to 2159). 

• Daily Slot Limit: There would be a daily limit on scheduled operations at all three airports as 

follows:

o JFK Daily Limit: 1205 slots between the hours 0600 to 2159;

o EWR Daily Limit: 1205 slots between the hours 0600 to 2159;

o LGA Daily Limit: 1136 slots between the hours 0600 to 2159

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Slot Limits at LGA, EWR, and JFK

Feature JFK EWR LGA

Slot Base Seasonal slot holdings, as approved by the FAA.

Slot Operational authority to conduct an arrival or departure operation on a particular 

day of the week during a specific 30-minute period.

Slot-controlled hours Daily: 0600 to 2259, 

Eastern time

Daily: 0600 to 2259, 

Eastern time

M-F: 0600 to 2159, 

Eastern time

Su: 1200 to 2159, Eastern 

time

Hourly slot limits 81 per hour or in any 60-

minute period and 44 in 

any 30-minute period

81 per hour or in any 60-

minute period and 44 in 

any 30-minute period

71 per hour or in any 60-

minute period and 38 in 

any 30-minute period

Daily slot limits 1205 for hours 0600 to 

2159

1205 for hours 0600 to 

2159

1136

Hourly unscheduled 

operations limits

2 1 3

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Slot Usage Requirements

• The NPRM would require use of an allocated slot 80% of the 

time for the same flight or series of flights throughout the 

scheduling season.

• This change is intended to address actions by some carriers 

that report a series of flights in different slots on various days 

during the reporting period to record usage on multiple slots 

with a single flight. 

• Although those actions are not prohibited by the current 

Orders, they artificially allow carriers to meet the minimum 

usage rules without scheduling a flight for each slot. 

• This change would promote more efficient usage of slots and 

is consistent with the IATA Worldwide Slot Guidelines. 

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Federal Aviation

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Creation of a Secondary Slot Market

• The NPRM proposes to allow airlines to buy, sell, lease, or 

trade slots through a secondary market. 

• The current Orders limit a carrier’s ability to transfer a slot 

(either by trade or lease) beyond the duration of the Orders. 

The Orders were intended as a short-term measure to allow 

time for development of a long-term, comprehensive rule that 

included a secondary market mechanism.

• To achieve the goals of promoting market access and 

competition, the NPRM presents 5 alternatives that would 

permit transfer of slots between carriers in a secondary 

market that encourages transparency. FAA is requesting 

comments on these alternatives. 

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Secondary Market (cont.)

Secondary market 

(Alternative 1)

Privately-negotiated buy, sell, lease, and trade without prior public notice; 

request for FAA approval must include terms of transaction; terms of final 

transaction posted on the FAA website

Secondary market 

(Alternative 2)

FAA publishes a bulletin board notice of buy, sell, lease, and trade; bidding 

and negotiation between seller and bidders after public notice; request for 

FAA approval must include terms of transaction; terms of final transaction 

posted on the FAA website

Secondary market 

(Alternative 3)

FAA publishes a bulletin board notice of buy, sell, lease, and trade; 

negotiations prior to public notice permitted; bidding and negotiation 

between seller and bidders; request for FAA approval must include terms of 

transaction; terms of final transaction posted on the FAA website

Secondary market 

(Alternative 4)

FAA publishes a bulletin board notice of buy, sell, lease, and trade; bids 

posted on bulletin board; request for FAA approval must include terms of 

transaction; terms of final transaction posted on the FAA website

Secondary market 

(Alternative 5)

FAA publishes a bulletin board notice of buy, sell, and lease without 

identifying poster; cash-only bids posted on bulletin board without identifying 

bidders; seller must accept highest bid; request for FAA approval must 

include terms of transaction; terms of final transaction posted on the FAA 

website

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Competitive and Public Interest Review 

• The proposed rule outlines procedures DOT proposes 

to take to review standalone slot transactions with 

potentially significant anti-competitive or adverse 

public interest effects. 

• The NPRM does not propose to review slot 

transactions resulting from air carrier mergers or 

acquisitions. 

• The NPRM would provide a safe harbor for certain 

routine small and/or short-term transactions.

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Competitive and Public Interest Review 

(cont.)

• The FAA would forward all proposed transactions along 

with their final terms to the DOT for review.

• The DOT would have 14 days to determine if the transaction 

can be approved or if more information is necessary.

• If, after such review, the transaction raises concerns, the 

DOT would notify the parties of those concerns, propose 

remedies or other actions, and set an appropriate 

procedure and timeline for review.

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Miscellaneous 

• Costs & Benefits: The FAA estimates the present value cost of the 

proposed rule would be $46.3 million. The estimated present value 

benefits would be $65.2 million.

• Comments will be accepted for 90-days after publication of the NPRM 

in the Federal Register.

• Issuance Date: December 19, 2014

• Publication Date: January 8, 2015

• Close of Comment Period: April 8, 2015

• The NPRM can be accessed via the Regulations.gov site: 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FAA-2014-1073-0001

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Federal Aviation

Administration

Questions?

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