Report: NY Flight Delays Cost Region $2.6 Billion in 2008

NY Times City Room:

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Flight Delays Prove Costly, in Time and Money
February 25, 2009, 12:56 pm
By Jennifer 8. Lee

Updated, 2:07 p.m. | Flight delays caused by air traffic congestion at New York City’s three major airports cost the regional economy more than $2.6 billion in 2008, according to an analysis [pdf] published by Partnership for NYC, a business-oriented group made up of 200 New York chief executives.

The 2008 losses from congestion break down to $676 million in costs for business travelers, $993 million for leisure travelers, $835 million in fuel and staffing costs to the airlines and $136 million to the shipping companies. The estimate is much higher than previous figures, including a $200 million cost for passengers issued by the New York City comptroller’s office in 2007, because it takes into account the airlines attempts at inflating flight times in order to reduce delay statistics, said Kathryn S. Wylde, the chief executive of Partnership for NYC.

“We accounted for the padding that the airlines put in because they anticipate delays,” she said. [Full Article]

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