Travel&Vacation

With all the focus on a possible Passenger Bill of Rights, it’s easy to overlook three government initiatives that, in the long run, will be much more important to travelers than any new set of rules.

Airway user fees

A great number of airline problems targeted by various bill of rights proposals are caused by delays and cancellations that, in turn, result from inadequate airport and airways capacity and outdated control systems. To support future improvements, the FAA is proposing sweeping changes in the way it charges for access to our airspace.

Without getting into the details, let me just say that the current funding system artificially encourages airlines and corporations to fly too many flights in planes that are much too small—in effect, to make very inefficient use of limited capacity. The new system will help rectify that problem.

Unfortunately, some powerful special interests are opposing the new system. But it’s clear that a regional jet carrying 40 people (or even a corporate jet carrying four executives who consider themselves too good for ordinary first-class travel) uses as much airways capacity as a 747 carrying 400 people. If the small planes paid for their actual use, we’d see fewer small planes and more large ones.

With a few tweaks, I believe the new fee system is a major step forward. I urge you to let your congressional delegation know that you favor it.

Border card

Concerned about potential loss of tourism revenues, several interested governments are looking for an alternative to passports for trans-border travel between the United States and neighboring countries. As you’ve undoubtedly read, recent rules require passports for cross-border travel by air, and that requirement will extend to travel by car, boat, and foot sometime after January 1, 2008. Lots of travelers have been annoyed by the new requirement because of the high cost of a passport (currently $97 for adults, $82 for kids 16 and under; more for expedited issue), as well as the added hassle. So far, two alternatives have emerged:

• The U.S. State Department is considering a limited-U.S. passport “card,” similar to a credit card or driver’s license, which would substitute for a passport for travel between the United States and Canada, Bermuda, Mexico, and Caribbean nations. The cost would be roughly half the cost of a passport.
• Several border states and Canadian provinces are pushing for an enhanced driver’s license—optional, at extra cost—that would substitute for a passport.

In either case, travelers applying for the new card/license would have to show either a passport or the qualifying information that would otherwise be required for a passport.

Technically, both proposals rely on an RFID chip imbedded in the card that would contain the required backup information and allow holders to be scanned automatically at border crossings. But those chips are coming anyway; the U.S. government and the states are working on a uniform RFID-chip driver’s license format within the next few years.

Overall, I can see no downside to these suggestions. Let’s hope that common sense prevails and the involved governments will come up with a solution before the all-modes passport requirement comes into effect.

Open skies

The European Union just released new proposals that would virtually eliminate any economic restrictions on airlines based in either the United States or Europe. If adopted, the new system would allow any U.S. airline to fly from any U.S. city to any point in Europe—and charge any fares—it wishes, with reciprocal rights for airlines based in Europe. Overall, the United States favors such a deal. The main opponents are British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, worried about losing their protected positions on routes between the United States and London’s Heathrow Airport, by far the most important European airline destination.

Although initial press reports speculated about opening the door to new transatlantic low-fare lines, the airlines figure the real prize is the lucrative business-class market. Even so, open skies would potentially benefit all U.S. travelers, regardless of the kinds of tickets they prefer, and we should all support the new proposals.