On-time performance under the Ground Management Program at JFK airport

In this paper, we investigate how the JFK Airport Ground Metering Program (GMP) has impacted two important on-time performance metrics for a departure: the “wheels up” time from JFK Airport and the gate arrival time at its destination airport. We present a comparative analysis of on-time performance during the 2009 summer months prior to and the 2012 summer months following the introduction of departure metering. The analysis considers several distinct sets of operations among these years to: a) identify operational improvement since 2009 during periods of the day when departure demand is generally high at JFK Airport versus when departure demand is generally low; and b) to isolate operational differences due weather-related conditions (i.e., during execution of a Severe Weather Avoidance Plan (SWAP)). Our results show that the number of 2012 departures from JFK Airport that met their proposed “wheels up” time has increased 9% relative to 2009, and the number of 2012 departures from JFK Airport that met their scheduled gate arrival time increased at least 7% relative to 2009. We also determine whether the JFK GMP as it was employed in 2012 allows JFK air carriers to reduce their operating costs further. JFK air carriers are interested in realizing further cost savings through better adherence to a “hold at the gate” principle, managing gate push back in accordance with gate departure times that the JFK Airport departure metering system recommends. Our findings show that, if JFK air carriers were to change their pre-departure operations and delay departures more at their gate (as flight readiness and gate/ramp-area resources allow), air carriers could in the future add about a 7-minute gate holding delay to many departure operations under the JFK GMP. The equivalent potential savings in operational costs due to this additional gate holding totals approximately $4 million over three months. This estimate introduces a compelling business case for better adherence to a “hold at the gate” principle under departure metering at JFK Airport.