[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 90 (Thursday, May 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26186-26187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-1226]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for 
Chicago O'Hare International Airport for the Winter 2008/2009 
Scheduling Season

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, FAA.

ACTION: Notice of submission deadline.

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces a May 15, 2008, deadline for submitting 
requests for domestic and international scheduled arrivals at Chicago 
O'Hare International Airport (ORD) for the Winter 2008/2009 scheduling 
season beginning October 26, 2008. The deadline coincides with the 
submission deadline established by the International Air Transport 
Association (IATA) for the Winter 2008/2009 Schedules Conference.

DATES: Proposed schedule information must be submitted to the FAA no 
later than May 15, 2008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA currently limits arrivals at ORD 
from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Friday, and 12 p.m. 
to 9 p.m., Central Time, on Sunday, based primarily on runway capacity 
limits. The FAA's restrictions at ORD in Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 93, Subpart B, are the equivalent of a Level 3 Fully 
Coordinated Airport as used in IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines. 
Separate schedule facilitation is done at the airport level for 
international passenger flights operating at Terminal 5. In addition to 
filing schedules for FAA runway capacity review, carriers should also 
file Terminal 5 schedules, if appropriate, at the address indicated in 
the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines, Annex 3. Carriers would 
obtain separate approval for FAA runway slots and Terminal 5 
operations, as appropriate.
    The FAA rules limiting flights at ORD will sunset on October 24, 
2008, under the terms of the rule effective October 29, 2006. This 
sunset provision was based on an expected increase in capacity when the 
first new runway opens under the O Hare Modernization Program (OMP). 
Runway 9L/27R is currently planned to be commissioned in November 2008. 
This will provide additional capacity at O'Hare for arriving and 
departing aircraft under various weather and runway configurations. 
Capacity projections estimate over 50,000 annual operations, or an 
average of about 8-10 total operations per hour, may be accommodated. 
However, additional operations must be reasonably distributed to avoid 
significant delay consequences. Terminal and gate availability are also 
expected to be constraints during certain periods.
    The FAA is seeking information in order to review projected 
schedules and to assist the agency in determining whether scheduling 
limits may continue to be applied at ORD until further runway capacity 
is realized under Phase II of the OMP. The form of the scheduling 
limitations, if needed, has not been determined. Options include: (1) 
Remove FAA scheduling limitations by letting the rule expire; (2) 
continue the airport's designation as IATA Level 3 and utilize the IATA 
Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines, with appropriate local rules, to 
review planned operations and resolve oversubscribed hours that would 
result in unacceptable delays; and (3) increase the scheduling limits 
to recognize additional runway capacity and modify the expiration date 
of the current rule. Any proposal to modify or extend the rule would be 
in a separate rulemaking process.
    The FAA recognizes there is a potential for carriers to file 
schedules that are preliminary in nature, rather than bone fide 
operational plans, and that some of the proposed flights may not 
actually operate. We understand that carriers legitimately review 
schedule plans for the winter 2008/2009 season well beyond the May 15 
submission deadline and that it may not be possible to have final 
schedules at this time, especially for domestic flights. This is 
particularly true given the increasing fuel and operating costs facing 
carriers at this time. The FAA expects carriers to provide the 
government realistic information representative of their schedule plans 
for winter 2008/2009 as the information will be part of our assessment 
of the potential operational impacts. The FAA will discuss carrier 
schedule requests relative to available runway capacity in the weeks 
following the schedule submissions, including at the IATA Schedules 
Conference in June. A timetable for a final agency proposal, if any, to 
continue limits on operations at O'Hare after October 24, 2008, has not 
been established at this time.
    Carriers are requested to provide information on scheduled arrivals 
including flight number, origin airport, scheduled time of arrival, 
frequency, effective dates, and equipment. The FAA is primarily 
concerned about arrival demand, as in the current rule, since most 
departures would subsequently be constrained by the arrival times given 
the predominant nature of hub operations at ORD. The FAA will, however, 
accept information on planned departures by carriers since this may 
provide more complete information and since many carriers use automated 
scheduling information systems.
    The U.S. winter scheduling season is from November 2, 2008, through 
March 7, 2009, in recognition of the U.S. standard time dates. The FAA 
understands the IATA winter 2008/2009 season is October 26, 2008, 
through March 28, 2009. The FAA will accept schedule information that 
coincides with the IATA scheduling season, rather than U.S. standard 
time dates, in order to ease the administrative burdens on carriers 
conducting international operations and in order to ensure that FAA has 
the most accurate schedule information.

ADDRESSES: Requests may be submitted by mail to Slot Administration 
Office, AGC-240, Office of the Chief Counsel, 800 Independence Ave., 
SW., Washington, DC 20591; facsimile: 202-

[[Page 26187]]

267-7277; ARINC: DCAYAXD; or by e-mail to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Tegtmeier, Office of the Chief 
Counsel, AGC-40, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; e-mail [email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC on May 2, 2008.
Rebecca B. Macpherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations.
[FR Doc. 08-1226 Filed 5-2-08; 4:10 pm]
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