[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75611-75612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29710]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Notice of Submission Deadline To Amend Slot Records for LaGuardia 
Airport

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of submission deadline.

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SUMMARY: Under this notice, the FAA announces the submission deadline 
of January 5, 2015, for requests to amend slot records (adjust slot 
times and arrival/departure designations) at New York LaGuardia Airport 
(LGA).

DATES: Adjustment requests must be submitted no later than January 5, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Adjustment requests may be submitted by mail to the Slot 
Administration Office, AGC-200, Office of the Chief Counsel, 800 
Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591; by facsimile to: 202-267-
7277; or by email to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hawks, Office of the Chief 
Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20591; telephone number: 202-267-7143; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Scheduled operations at LGA currently are 
limited by FAA Order until a final Slot Management and Transparency 
Rule for LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and 
Newark Liberty International Airport (RIN 2120-AJ89) becomes effective 
but not later than October 29, 2016.\1\ The LGA Order permits the 
leasing or trading of slots through the expiration date of the Order, 
but this mechanism limits a carrier's ability to permanently adjust its 
slot base through trades with another carrier, as is common at Ronald 
Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Additionally, the Order 
permanently allocates slots, unlike the EWR and JFK Orders that 
allocate slots and permit slot retimings on a seasonal basis, subject 
to availability of slots through a transparent process generally 
following the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Worldwide 
Slot Guidelines (WSG).\2\
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    \1\ Operating Limitations at New York LaGuardia Airport, 71 FR 
77854 (Dec. 27, 2006) as amended by 79 FR 17222 (Mar. 27, 2014).
    \2\ See 79 FR 16857 (Mar. 26, 2014) (EWR Order); 79 FR 16854 
(Mar. 26, 2014) (JFK Order).
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    In July 2014, the FAA announced a submission deadline for requests 
to amend slot records (adjust slot times and arrival/departure 
designations) and evaluated those requests in anticipation of the 2014-
15 winter IATA scheduling season.\3\ The FAA received generally 
favorable feedback from carriers and interested parties on the 
adjustment process. Historically, the FAA had evaluated and confirmed 
these adjustment requests, consistent with the LGA Order and prior FAA 
practice, on a first-come, first-served basis after evaluating whether 
they have an operational benefit or a neutral effect on operations. 
Since 2007, adjustments have improved LGA operational performance. 
Although the FAA had not necessarily intended to request and review 
slot adjustments on a regular basis, it has determined that using a 
seasonal review process addresses operational necessities in a fair and 
transparent manner. Therefore, in the future the FAA will establish 
submission deadlines by Federal Register notice in early August and 
early December because the FAA has noticed that the largest number of 
requests occur as carriers are finalizing their planned schedules. The 
FAA will continue to review all adjustment requests submitted outside 
of this semi-annual process in the order they are received.
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    \3\ 79 FR 44088 (Jul. 29, 2014).
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    To evaluate LGA slot adjustments for the upcoming 2015 summer IATA 
scheduling season in a fair and transparent manner, the FAA is 
establishing a deadline of January 5, 2015, for carriers to request 
retiming and changes to the arrival/departure designation of currently-
held slots. Carriers should provide slot information in sufficient 
detail including, at a minimum, the operating carrier, slot number, 
scheduled time of arrival or departure, frequency, arrival/departure 
designation, and effective dates. Consistent with past practice, the 
FAA will evaluate requests in light of the overall operational impact 
at LGA and whether the requests improve or have a neutral effect on 
operational performance. The FAA will consider both short-term 
adjustments and adjustments through the expiration of the LGA Order. In 
addition, if the FAA receives conflicting requests for retiming, the 
FAA will give priority to new entrants and limited incumbents, 
consistent with the LGA Order and FAA practice. The terms of the LGA 
Order prevent the FAA from allocating new slots in hours at or above 
the slot limit.
    The FAA will evaluate requests received by January 5, 2015, and 
intends to respond to the requests no later than January 12, 2015. The 
FAA cannot guarantee that all requests to adjust slot holdings will be 
confirmed. Requests received after January 5, 2015, will be evaluated 
after timely requests in the order they are received. As permitted 
under paragraph A.5 of the LGA Order, carriers are encouraged to engage 
in slot trades, when possible, to achieve desired timings.


[[Page 75612]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2014.
Mark W. Bury,
Assistant Chief Counsel for International Law, Legislation, and 
Regulations.
[FR Doc. 2014-29710 Filed 12-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P