Affecting Operational Change Through Analysis: Thanksgiving 2008

Economic conditions and passenger opinion throughout the National Airspace System are dictating a fresh look at delay mitigation strategies. This is especially true during the high traffic U.S. Thanksgiving holiday period in late November. The Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving has increasingly become an air travel nightmare with delays in 2007 leading to record customer dissatisfaction. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the work presented in this paper explores the creation and implementation of a comprehensive pre-coordinated delay reduction initiative for New York metro Thanksgiving departures, on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2008. The success of the 2008 program, which resulted in a decrease in average taxi out delays by 28 percent compared to 2007 (with only 3 percent fewer departing flights at the 3 major NY airports), continues to drive research and application into 2009 to improve the performance of the National Airspace System.