AAA Says Lower Airfares for Off-Peak Travel is Key to Reducing Delays At Congested Airports

    WASHINGTON--March 19, 2001--AAA said today that it agrees with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta that some system of peak pricing to encourage travel at off-peak times is needed to control delays at the most congested airports.
    In a letter to the secretary, AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet said, "AAA welcomes your aggressive efforts to focus attention on the problems facing the air travel system and your efforts to seek short-term relief for beleaguered passengers."
    However, Darbelnet said that to make a peak pricing system work travelers would have to be given incentives in terms of lower fares for travel at off-peak periods, with corresponding increases for travel during peak periods.
    "We believe this approach would be more consistent with the administration's desire to reduce rather than raise the tax burden," he said. "The overall effect would be revenue neutral to the airlines but could direct air traffic more realistically throughout the day."
    Earlier this year AAA released a survey showing 89 percent of its members were willing to travel at off-peak times to avoid higher airfares.
    "Certainly, the scheduling practices of airlines also must be examined in light of current delays," he said. "When airlines intentionally schedule more flights than the airport can handle at a given time, they are compounding the problem. In effect, they are over promising when they know they can't deliver."
    Earlier this week, AAA provided Congress with its recommendations for minimum rights that passengers should expect from the aviation system, citing passenger safety as the most fundamental right of all air travelers.
    As the nation's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its 44 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for safety and security of all travelers.

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