Delta & JetBlue Seek Tarmac Exemption
Posted on 03/09/10 at 9:41am by Daniel James Hayden IV
Because of a temporary closure of the main runway at New York's JFK airport, JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) have asked for temporary exemptions from a new federal government rule that limits the amount of time that passengers can be forced to wait on planes that are sitting on the tarmac.

The new rule was issued by the Department of Transportation and prohibits airlines from keeping passengers waiting in planes on the tarmac for more than 3 hours.

Violators could be fined $27,500 per passenger, which could amount to a fine of millions of dollars for a large plane full of passengers.

Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways Corporation run the biggest operations out of the New York airport, so they are the most likely to face delays due to the airport's main runway being closed from March 1 until July.

The two airlines have reduced their schedules by 10% to ease congestion but they're still worried that the runway closure will cause more delays across the U.S.

Okay, place your bets!

My bet? Delta gets denied and Jetblue gets approved because its Delta's larger aircraft that are causing the taxiway congestion in the first place.