<B> Washington Wire</B>
By Barbara Cook, Washington Correspondent
<B>Gov't. Outlines Aviation Plan</B>
The Clinton Administration on Feb. 8 unveiled its proposed aviation blueprint for the next five years, sending legislation to Congress that would end the practice of allocating landing and takeoff slots at New York's JFK and LaGuardia and Chicago O'Hare airports, raise user fees for passengers and put in place a program to boost air service to underserved communities.
Also recommended is a boost in the present $3 cap on passenger facility charges to $5, with a fee limit of $20 per roundtrip flight. But the airlines decried the proposal, with Air Transport Association president Carol Hallett saying the flying public is already overtaxed "and they do not deserve the government dipping into their pockets yet again." The airlines also faulted the proposal to increase the immigration fee to $8, from the present $6, and to increase the $5 U.S. Customs fee by an unspecified amount.
The proposal also recommended spending $1 billion next year to continue FAA's Safer Skies program goal of reducing the fatal aviation accident rate by 80 percent within a decade, and slotted $100 million to continue the deployment of explosives detection equipment at the nation's airports.
The provisions designed to stimulate greater air service at small and rural airports include creating a five-year pilot program to fund community efforts to attract better air service. Other provisions would require major carriers to support their feeder codeshare partners during a strike, provide interline baggage and joint fare arrangements at dominated hubs to passengers flying on small independent carriers, and implement a five-year program to expand the runways of smaller airports to significantly expand the number of private aircraft able to use the facilities. The legislation also would increase penalties for unruly aircraft passengers from $1,000 to $10,000.
<a name="2"><B>U.S., Mexico Pen Open Skies Agreement</B>
The United States and Mexico have signed an agreement expanding aviation rights between the two countries, providing for numerous codeshare agreements. Four carriers from each country now may provide codeshare services between the United States and Mexico in each transborder city-pair market, and codesharing services may take place between a U.S. and Mexican carrier, two U.S. carriers or two Mexican carriers. Applications are pending for code sharing between some 10,000 U.S.-Mexican city pairs.
<a name="3"><B>DOT Loses Hunnicutt To Law Firm</B>
Charles Hunnicutt, assistant secretary of transportation for aviation and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation, will rejoin his former law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi on March 22 as a partner in the government affairs department. Hunnicutt has served in his DOT post since January 1996, acting as the principal advisor to the secretary on commercial aviation policy, including economic and regulatory issues. Most recently, Hunnicutt said more steps need to be taken to move toward a single, open worldwide aviation market, including removing the restrictions on airline operations from existing aviation bilateral agreements, and expanding opportunities for new entry and for new business methods in the industry.