The House Judiciary Committee has approved H.R. 1407, the Airline Delay Reduction Act, which would allow airline reps to discuss cooperative scheduling arrangements to reduce flight delays. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee already has cleared the measure and it now goes to the full House for debate. A similar bill is moving through the Senate. Airline execs and some government officials said allowing the airlines to consult on their schedules might help to reduce delays in a crisis, such as severe weather. Judiciary Committee members voiced strong concerns about the bill and made several amendments to it before passing it. Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the committee chairman and ranking member, respectively, spoke out against the legislation before offering amendments that were approved. Sensenbrenner's amendment would require the attorney general, as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation secretary, to attend and monitor any meeting among airline reps to discuss flight schedules. Further, it would allow the DOT secretary to approve a scheduling arrangement only if each carrier, including those seeking to provide service to the airport, agree to the arrangement. "I would like to reduce flight delays and cancellations, but I think we should do so by adding airport capacity," Sensenbrenner said. Conyers said he is reluctant to give DOT oversight on the airline scheduling committees, since the department doesn't have substantial expertise in antitrust issues. He offered an amendment to give that authority instead to the attorney general. "What consumers need is more vigorous antitrust enforcement, not more antitrust exemptions," Conyers said.
<B><A NAME="2">Open Skies Talks To Continue This Fall</B>
Following preliminary aviation talks June 26-27 in London, the United States and United Kingdom said further bilateral discussions would not take place before fall. According to a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson, the two sides will monitor "related events" to determine when to set a date for negotiations. These related events include discussions aimed at forming alliances between American Airlines and British Airways and between United Airlines and BMI British Midland. So far, no applications have been filed for antitrust immunity for any such alliances. The United States steadfastly has held that a liberalized agreement with the United Kingdom would be required before antitrust immunity would be granted to any alliance. One other event being watched is the progress in the European Court of Justice of a case instituted by the European Commission over member states' individual aviation bilaterals with the United States. The EC maintains that it should negotiate a single aviation treaty that covers all European states. The United States argues that individual European countries didn't cede that authority to the EC and retain the right to negotiate individually.
<B><A NAME="2">Coalition To Oversee Transportation Funds</B>
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced the formation of a coalition to monitor the spending of federal transportation trust funds to ensure that the revenue is spent on transportation projects and not diverted. Named Americans for Transportation Mobility, the coalition consists of the Air Transport Association, airport and manufacturing groups and more than 40 local and state chambers of commerce. The group also will lobby for spending earmarked "transportation funds" and for the streamlining of environmental regulations that delay construction on capacity enhancing projects, such as new runways.