By: Erika Lovley

A low-fare airline association is eyeing a Department of Transportation proposal that could give young airlines access to New York’s busiest airports — and it’s enlisting members of Congress for firepower.

The Air Carrier Association of America, which represents Spirit Airlines, AirTran Airways and other young airlines, is using a two-pronged approach: talking to members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and submitting comments to the Transportation Department on the administration’s controversial proposal.

In a move intended to reduce congestion and increase competition, federal regulators are pushing airlines to auction off some of their landing and takeoff slots at John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty airports. A similar plan was announced earlier for LaGuardia Airport.

The three airports are plagued by flight delays, which often have a trickledown effect on the rest of the nation.

With skyrocketing fuel costs and ticket prices, Air Carrier Association Executive Director Edward P. Faberman is asking members of Congress to require the Transportation Department to continue expanding opportunities for competition and remove airport barriers that thwart the growth of low-fare air travel. Specific targets include members of the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations, whose constituents would be directly affected by the changes.

“I think that the government and more members understand this is a critical time to stand up and support airline competition,” Faberman said. “We have tried for years now to get the government to expand options for low-fare airlines at closed airports.”

The plan looks fairly simple on paper. Airlines would be required to surrender some of their flight slots — the time frame in which the airport can schedule a landing or takeoff.

Auction proceeds would be either funneled back to the federal aviation system that envelops New York airspace or given back to the airlines that surrendered the slots.

While Congress can’t interfere directly with the Transportation Department’s decision, lawmakers can meddle to make things better — or worse.

The lobbying efforts are quickly turning into a tug of war as the airline industry pursues the same members of Congress, warning that the administration’s proposal is another expensive nail in the airline industry’s coffin. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airports, is also opposed to the auctions.

One of the most ardent opponents of the proposal, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), already proposed an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration spending bill that would prevent the government from confiscating slots and auctioning them, but the bill stalled.

“Implementing an untested scheme to impose auctions … is nothing short of insanity,” Schumer said in a statement. “Auctions have never been tried and were hatched by a handful of ivory tower types in the administration.”

The Transportation Department has not estimated the cost of the slots, but some experts speculate each could sell for more than $10 million.

Both the airlines and the Port Authority are threatening lawsuits if the auctions succeed, arguing that the government has no legal authority to take property the airlines have invested in. For instance, Delta recently spent $20 million on terminal upgrades at JFK. And airports are concerned they will be forced to alter gates and ticket counters to accommodate new entrants.

“How would you feel if you invested tons of money into developing your yard and suddenly someone else was allowed to live on a portion?” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, the industry trade group.

The Airports Council International, the International Air Transport Association and the Business Travel Coalition have also voiced their opposition.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters argues the auctions would cut delays and increase competition by giving low-fare airlines access to the airports, where larger carriers have dominated the airspace. At the Newark airport, for instance, Continental Airlines handles nearly 70 percent of the passengers.

The proposal could be good news, though, for airlines such as Virgin America, an upstart from California that has nine flights per day out of JFK. The airline has been trying to gain additional slots, as well as access to Newark, but so far has been shut out. Virgin America is urging the Transportation Department to auction off an even larger number of slots.

“Well over 90 percent of the high-value slots at capacity-constrained airports will be given away free of charge to incumbent airlines, and new entrants will be required to purchase access by bidding on the remaining scraps,” said Virgin America spokeswoman Abby Lunardini. “We have to wait and hope the government re-evaluates the impact on consumers.”

But not all airlines are demanding an all-access pass. Poor market conditions have dampened even the most profitable carrier’s expansion plans. Southwest Airlines, which has been consistently profitable, currently has no access to any of New York’s three major airports and is unsure if it would be willing to pay for it.

“We would examine cost and see if the fees demand would be too great,” said Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Rogers. “With the industry in the state that it is right now, you have to be really smart about the moves you make.”

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