So-called "legacy carriers," the big-name airlines that have been bleeding red ink for three years, may have few advantages left over low-fare, sometimes smaller, competitors. But they have one trump card: They control lots of gates at lots of big airports. Now, competitors are petitioning the Department of Transportation to force the Big Boys to give up some of their landing slots. Our Savvy Traveler, Rudy Maxa, tells us what that means to you.

If an airline wants to compete on the basis of fares, perks and schedules, the first thing it needs is an airport slot. Think of it as a parking space. And at some very popular, big-city airports such as New York's LaGuardia or Washington's Reagan-National, parking is brutal.

In fact, that's how the legacy carriers manage to keep out some pesky, low-fare competitors at some airports: They won't relinquish slots they rent even if they're not using them.

For consumers, that means reduced competition and higher prices. Want proof? Just look at what happened to US Airways' sky-high fares when Southwest began service to and from Philadelphia, a US Airways hub. Suddenly US Airways unveiled low, last-minute fares with no Saturday-night stay-over requirement. Same thing happened more recently when Independence Air began flying from Washington's Dulles airport; US Airways announced sharply discounted fares.

Coincidence? I think not.

Five major, US airports are nearly overbooked: LaGuardia, Newark, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Chicago's O'Hare. Others, such as Denver, have few slots to lease because a major carrier--United in Denver's case--wants to limit the growth of competitors--Frontier, in this case. And on top of that, the legacy carriers are using more and more regional jets. Which means more congestion.

We're talking high stakes here. JetBlue, Southwest, Airtran and Frontier alone have ordered 500 new jets to be delivered over the next five years. That's a hundred more jets than Continental flies in its main fleet today. Where, oh, where will they all park?

If the Department of Transporation forces the Big Boys to give up some of their landing slots, that'll be great. Keep your fingers crossed--those decisions will affect how much you pay for future airline tickets.

From St. Paul, I'm Rudy Maxa, the Savvy Traveler, for Marketplace.

June 30, 2004