(Updates with more details of speech.)
By Henry J. Pulizzi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- In an effort to ease travel hassles over the holiday season, U.S. President George W. Bush said Tuesday that the government will open more military airspace to civilian flights during peak travel periods.
"A lot of our citizens are nervous about traveling," Bush said in a speech at the U.S. Transportation Department. "They're not nervous about their safety, but they're nervous about what their experience will be like - long delays, lost bags, overbooking of flights."
Last year, Bush announced the opening of a "Thanksgiving express lane" from Maine to Florida to ease air congestion during the five busiest days of the Thanksgiving rush and around the Christmas holiday.
That effort, which Bush called a success, will be expanded this year to the areas over the Midwest, Southwest and West Coast, including the skies over Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Bush outlined a series of other steps the White House is taking to address the inconveniences of modern travel, saying the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and the airlines are working to make more staff available to speed the check-in and boarding process and help passengers affected by cancellations and delays.
Increased consumer protections also are in the works, including regular compensation for lost bags and tougher penalties for airlines that don't notify travelers of hidden fees. Those rules will take effect next month, Bush said, in time for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"Will traveling home for the holidays be 'It's a Wonderful Life' or will it be 'The Nightmare Before Christmas?' Bush asked. "Our job is to make sure it is as comfortable an experience as possible."
In addition to unveiling new travel initiatives, Bush trumpeted his administration's record on air travel, saying regulations have been put in place to make airlines more accountable. He said the fines airlines pay for bumping travelers off of overbooked flights have been doubled.
To unclog air traffic over New York City, which is the source of most delays and cancellations elsewhere in the country, Bush said the administration created a new departure route, capped the total number flights in the area and provided $90 million over the next eight to upgrade the taxiways at John F. Kennedy airport.
In January, the FAA will start auctioning takeoff and landing spots at New York airports, a market-based approach long advocated by the Bush administration.
"We strongly believe increased competition will help lower fares for consumers," Bush said.
He is signing an executive order Tuesday to make modernizing the aviation system a "leading priority" for federal agencies.
While Bush expressed sympathy for stranded and frustrated fliers, he acknowledged his own unfamiliarity with the problems most people face while traveling.
"For the past eight years, I have not seen a traffic jam, waited for an airplane or had my bags lost," he joked.
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=ca%2BNpgo7zosg6xjniF472A%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2008 10:53 ET (15:53 GMT)

Publié le 18 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones