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Capacity at O'Hare reason for decline of regional airports
The article "On Standby" (see September 1997, page 18) addressed the secondary causes of the economic nosedive at regional airports but ignored the single most important one: the constrained capacity of nearby major hub airports, most specifically O'Hare.
During the mid-1990s O'Hare capacity has become so constrained that, for each flight added (during publicly accepted travel hours), an existing flight must be abandoned. There are no exceptions to this certainty. In 1995, the FAA concluded that the operational restrictions governing O'Hare (The High Density Rule) could not be lifted or relaxed, even though doing so would generate more than $600 million in annual net economic benefit to the state. The consequence of this capacity constraint (155 operations per hour from 6:45 a.m. to 9:15 p.m.) is that each new flight to large cities in Asia, South America, Europe or the West or East coasts must be accompanied by the elimination of a flight to a small or medium-size city, with the greatest probability of loss being in the Midwest.
A study our firm completed for IDOT last year concluded that more than 44 Midwestern cities will lose their nonstop service to O'Hare by 2020. During the last 15 months, six cities have lost such service: Rockford, Danville and Decatur, in Illinois, and Terre Haute, Mason City and Sioux City, in adjoining states. As mentioned in your article, this service abandonment or reduction was preceded by a fare increase; this reduced ridership to a point where airlines could plead adverse market conditions.
Your article gives the impression that the decline in enplanements from downstate Illinois airports is reflective of a national trend. Nothing can be further from the truth. Enplanements on regional airlines, which service small- and medium- size cities, have been growing at rates much higher than those of the trunk airlines serving large cities.
The construction of a south
suburban airport in Will County will relieve the capacity-constrained O'Hare
Airport. Service from downstate airports can then access Chicago or connect
through either airport, allowing an offering of the richest choice and
greatest efficiency.
Suhail al Chalabi
Chicago
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Intercity rail left out of ISTEA equation
What a shame your September 1997 issue chose the mode-specific approach to discuss the state's transportation needs. Decades of this type of thinking, fueled by federal matching funds attached specifically to highway, mass transit or airport capital investment rather than an overall cost-benefit analysis that includes intercity passenger rail in the equation, is why the federal government and IDOT have failed to create a network that serves those who don't own a car, can't drive or live too far from economical air service.
Gayle Worland's "End of the Road?" (see page 14) was on target in emphasizing the importance of the upcoming reauthorization of ISTEA legislation. Unfortunately, by concluding that "the debate this time is less about what to spend money on ... and more about how much money ... will be spent," she succumbs to the siren song of the road building lobbying group (TRIP), whose main interest is to keep the highway spending spigot open as wide as possible. She fails to point out that despite the "I" for "Intermodal," capital spending for intercity passenger rail was left out of the original legislation. It is important that the reauthorization correct this oversight.
Illinois has contributed
substantial operating support to maintain existing Amtrak service, but
its DOT and legislators lack the will to launch a program that will field
more than one train a day on three routes with no more than status quo
speeds and equipment.
Bob Johnston
Chicago
44 / November 1997 Illinois Issues