JetBlue Airlines 2010 Annual Report Download - page 19

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restrictions, flights. As a result of over-scheduling beyond the airport’s hourly capacity, congestion and delays
increased significantly in 2007.
JFK and its neighboring metropolitan area airports have experienced significant Air Traffic Control, or
ATC, related delays as a result of increasing scheduled and general aviation services since June 2006. The
magnitude of delays not only deteriorated air travel services in the New York area, but the entire air traffic
system in the United States. Consequently, the FAA imposed slot restrictions and hourly operational caps at
JFK and Newark’s Liberty International Airport with the goal of reducing system congestion in 2008. Despite
this action, the summer of 2008 was one of the most challenging periods for disruptive operations in the
New York metropolitan area. The delay level during this time actually surpassed the levels during the same
period of 2007 as ATC implemented daily ground delay programs at JFK. While JFK delays in 2010 were
much more manageable, the delay reductions were primarily driven by industry capacity reductions and a mild
summer in the New York area.
At LaGuardia Airport, where we maintain a small presence, the High Density Rule was replaced by the
FAA with a temporary rule continuing the strict limitations on operations during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to
9:59 p.m. This rule had been scheduled to expire in late 2007 upon the enactment of a permanent rule
restructuring the rights of carriers to operate at LaGuardia. This final rule was issued in October 2008, but its
implementation has been partially stayed. Under the current rule, our operations remain unaffected. Should
new rules be implemented in whole or in part, our ability to maintain a full schedule at LaGuardia would
likely be impacted.
Long Beach (California) Municipal Airport is a slot-controlled airport as a result of a 1995 court
settlement. Under the settlement, there are a total of 41 daily non-commuter departure slots and a single slot is
required for every commercial departure. There are no plans to eliminate slot restrictions at the Long Beach
Municipal Airport. In April 2003, the FAA approved a settlement agreement among the City of Long Beach,
American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue with respect to the allocation of the slots. This settlement
provides for a priority allocation procedure should supplemental slots above the 41 current slots become
available. We have 30 slots available for use and currently operate 30 weekday roundtrip flights from Long
Beach Municipal Airport to 13 domestic cities.
Environmental. We are subject to various federal, state and local laws relating to the protection of the
environment, including the discharge or disposal of materials and chemicals and the regulation of aircraft
noise administered by numerous state and federal agencies.
The Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 recognizes the right of airport operators with special noise
problems to implement local noise abatement procedures as long as those procedures do not interfere
unreasonably with the interstate and foreign commerce of the national air transportation system. Certain
airports, including San Diego and Long Beach, California, have established restrictions to limit noise which
can include limits on the number of hourly or daily operations and the time of such operations. These
limitations serve to protect the local noise-sensitive communities surrounding the airport. Our scheduled flights
at Long Beach and San Diego are in compliance with the noise curfew limits but when we experience
irregular operations, on occasion, we violate these curfews. We have agreed to a payment structure with the
Long Beach City Prosecutor for any violations which we pay quarterly to the Long Beach Public Library
Foundation and are based on the number of infractions in the preceding quarter. This local ordinance has not
had, and we believe that it will not have, a negative effect on our operations.
We have launched a “Jetting to Green” program on www.jetblue.com, which we use to educate our
customers and crewmembers about environmental issues and to inform the public about our “green” initiatives.
We also publish a corporate sustainability report, which addresses our environmental programs, including
those aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, our conservation efforts and our social responsibility
initiatives.
In December 2009, we signed comprehensive memorandums of understanding, along with 14 other
airlines, with two different producers for a future supply of alternative aviation fuel, which would be more
environmentally friendly than jet fuel currently being used. One producer, AltAir Fuels, plans for the
production of approximately 75 million gallons per year of jet fuel and diesel fuel derived from camelina oils
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