Editorial: Small steps may ease holiday air travel woes

There's little joy in air travel these days. From long lines at security to overbooked planes and flight delays, you arrive at the airport expecting the worse. If you're flying during the holidays, it's often the worst.

With two major travel periods approaching, it's comforting to know that the federal government and the airlines are taking steps to alleviate the woes of holiday travels past. Just don't expect huge progress until the nation's air traffic control system is improved, which is likely to take years.

This year, travelers should feel a little more optimistic about their ability to get from Point A to Point B without serious delays because of a number of steps outlined last week by President Bush and federal transportation officials.

The most creative remedy will allow commercial airliners to use two corridors of the Eastern Seaboard that are normally restricted by the Pentagon for military flights. The so-called "Thanksgiving express lane" will supplement existing air routes from Florida to New England, with the goal of alleviating the congestion in New York that often ripples through the rest of the country.

Other federal initiatives in place for Thanksgiving and Christmas include a moratorium on nonessential maintenance projects, encouraging airlines to add staff and extra capacity, and improved real-time Web updates on flight delays.

A 20-point program announced by Northwest Airlines may have more impact on travel to and from the Twin Cities. The airline will provide advance notice of weather delays and more flexible rebooking policies for weather-related problems.

Northwest also is adding pilots and planes to its holiday schedule, meaning that the airline should be able to avoid the meltdown its system saw this summer when thousands of flights had to be canceled because of a pilot shortage.

These are all positive developments. Federal officials, led by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, seem to recognize the importance of improving air travel in this country. Airlines know that service must become a higher priority. Delays cost the industry $6 billion a year, according to the Air Travelers Association (ATA), the airline trade group.

To make real progress, though, the outdated air traffic control system needs a multibillion-dollar overhaul to replace radar with global positioning satellites. The ATA believes many smaller technical improvements can be made to reduce delays, but over time the much costlier and elaborate upgrade will be needed so that controllers who now use outdated technology and procedures will know exactly where planes are, on the ground and in the air.

Now Congress and the industry have to figure out how to pay for the new system, which is expected to take more than a decade to complete. In the meantime, pack plenty of patience for your trip and hope for good weather.