The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go

After a few extensions and all sorts of wrangling, the Federal Aviation Administration is now reauthorized by Congress through September 2028. In the 1,068 page bill, there is… pretty much nothing of interest. That, however, won’t stop me from talking about it.

If you’re into research and studies, it’s time to get excited. The word “report” appears 600 times with “study” showing up 310 times and “research” making an appearance in 219 places. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is noted 38 times, because, well, they do a lot of studying, researching, and reporting over there.

Even though reports and studies aren’t really groundbreaking, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some fun nuggets in there.

SEC. 756. BANNING MUNICIPAL AIRPORT.

Think of the worst possible location for an airport, and there you’ll find Banning. This place sits in the San Gorgonio pass, the only thing really separating the vast LA Basin from Palm Springs. If you’ve ever done the drive between LA and Palm Springs, you know this as the area filled with the Cabazon outlets and casino on the Morongo reservation along with those dinosaur statues that you first discovered in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. It sits right on top of the San Andreas fault, and it is incredibly windy… which explains all the windmills in the area.

The city of Banning owns the airport and desperately wants to shut it down and redevelop the property. It has been trying to do this since 2016, and now, eight years later, it is getting closer.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 25 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall initiate a study on the Banning Municipal Airport to identify—

aviation traffic at the Airport in each of the 10 years preceding the study, and estimated future traffic each year in the 10 years following the study; associated annual revenues and costs in each year to service aviation traffic during the 8 years preceding the study, and to continue to service the airport for another 10 years; use of the facility for fighting wildfires and the degree of the utility of the facility to the local county fire department or other emergency first responders; status of the current infrastructure and planned improvements of the airport as of the date of the study, if any, and during the 5 years following the study and the associated costs of such improvements; perspectives of and impact on the Morongo Band of Indians resulting from operation of the airport near Tribal lands; and Federal funds that would be required to modernize the infrastructure of the airport to assure no annual operating financial losses for the 10 years following the study.

(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the study.

I’m generally against closing airports — yes, I’m looking at you Santa Monica — but in this case, just let the city do it. This just drags on and on.

SEC. 1104. QUASQUICENTENNIAL OF AVIATION.

This one is not a study but rather a celebration. Today I learned that quasquicentennial means 125 years, and in 2028 we will reach the 125th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright Brothers. And you know what? We’re gonna party like it’s 1903, says Congress.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

December 17, 2028, is the 125th anniversary of the first successful manned, free, controlled, and sustained flight by an aircraft. The first flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, is a defining moment in the history of the United States and the world. The Wright brothers’ achievement is a testament to their ingenuity, perseverance, and commitment to innovation, which has inspired generations of aviators and scientists alike. The advent of aviation and the air transportation industry has fundamentally transformed the United States and the world for the better. The 125th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight is worthy of recognition and celebration to honor their legacy and to inspire a new generation of Americans as aviation reaches an inflection point of innovation and change.

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary, the Administrator, and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies should facilitate and participate in local, national, and international observances and activities that commemorate and celebrate the 125th anniversary of powered flight

This is the kind of inane stuff that is peppered throughout the bill. It is completely irrelevant to the traveling public and the functioning of the FAA, but somebody really, really wanted this to happen. So there it is.

Is there anything truly notable in here? Meh, not really. You have the bill codifying the refund rules during schedule change/irregular operations, but we already talked about that. This would probably explain why nobody is really talking about anything in here with the exception of one area…

SEC. 502. ADDITIONAL WITHIN AND BEYOND PERIMETER SLOT EXEMPTIONS AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT.

Despite the airport and local reps saying that it will only add to the congestion on Washington National’s (DCA) runways, Congress has decided to go the self-serving route and authorize five new roundtrips that can go beyond the airport’s arbitrary 1,250 mile perimeter rule.

It’s no secret that politicans love DCA, because it is very, very close to their offices. They need to go home a lot, and those people who live more than 1,250 miles didn’t have a nonstop option until a couple decades ago when the late Sen John McCain (R-AZ) brought home the first perimeter exemptions. Since that time, every western politician has wanted in, and here’s where it stands today.

Daily Departing Periemeter Exemptions from Washington/National Airport

Now, there will be five more slot pairs, one of which has to be divvied up between the “limited incumbents” which have fewer than 6 slot pairs at the airport. That means it’s Air Canada, Alaska, and Frontier in the running. Despite Vancouver and Calgary being interesting, I can’t imagine this will go to Air Canada. That doesn’t benefit any American politicians.

Alaska has already expressed an interest in serving San Diego, so this should be a shoe-in to win over whatever Frontier wants to do. That route was served previously by US Airways, but it was moved to LA after the merger with American. San Diego is one of the largest unserved markets from DCA.

That leaves four others to get split up between American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United. In this game of musical chairs, only one will be left out.

American is also a lock since it has partnered with the San Antonio airport to apply for that service. Everybody knew San Antonio would get service in this round, so this just solidifies who will fly it.

Southwest just came out yesterday saying it wants Las Vegas. That’s a blow for those in Sacramento who were hoping for a flight, but Southwest did wisely say it would have that airplane continue on to Sacramento as a direct flight. Las Vegas does only have one daily on American right now, so this makes a great deal of sense. I imagine this will do just fine, even if it’s not exciting.

The best options for the rest of the bunch are, in my opinion:

Delta – Seattle to compete with Alaska JetBlue – It should probably sit this one out United – Either another San Francisco or an LA

My guess is that JetBlue is the odd man out, and the others all get one flight. I’m just not convinced that there is a clear market leader for any of them, so we’ll see which politician wins the battle.

The fact that we’re talking about this shows that there just isn’t much exciting in the FAA reauthorization. But at least it’s done and the continuing resolution shenanigans can stop.

The latest episode of The Air Show podcast is live, and I’m a little late to the party. I was on a mini-vacation last week, so you can tune in to hear Jon and Brian talk about Embraer.

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The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go

The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go

The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go

The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go

The FAA is Reauthorized But The Only Interesting Bit is Where Those New DCA Slots Go