SOURCE: ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20040818_1285.html FAA: Flight-Reduction Deal Set for O'Hare FAA: Temporary Flight-Reduction Deal Is Reached for Chicago's Delay-Prone O'Hare The Associated Press WASHINGTON Aug. 18, 2004 ? Federal officials have reached a temporary agreement to ease congestion at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that calls for a reduction of 37 daily arrivals by United Airlines and American Airlines, officials said Wednesday in a conference call with congressional aides. "We're definitely solving the problem of excessive delays" at the nation's busiest airport," Federal Aviation Administration official Sharon Pinkerton said in outlining an order to be signed later in the day by Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Marion C. Blakey. Pinkerton said the order would be in effect from Nov. 1 through April. Details were to be announced at an O'Hare news conference. Sixteen airlines participated in three days of negotiations in Washington earlier this month held by the FAA, which has been trying to ease persistent delays at O'Hare that they say hamper the nation's entire air system. Mineta had said the meeting was the last opportunity for airlines to voluntarily solve O'Hare's gridlock before the government would impose strict flight caps. Together, United and American handle 88 percent of all flights at the Chicago airport. They had offered to support temporary flight caps, but they wanted other carriers also to make schedule cuts as well. Most of the cuts in the deal Wednesday affect United and American, but other cuts are expected to be included as well. Chicago-based United and Fort Worth, Texas-based American had already announced in January a voluntary 5 percent reduction in daily flight schedules between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., the peak time for departures and arrivals. Still, O'Hare remained near or at the bottom nationally in on-time performance. In June, an extra 2 1/2 percent reduction took effect. The total came to about 90 fewer flights a day for the two airlines. About two-thirds of arrivals at O'Hare have been on-time this year, compared with the FAA's systemwide goal of 82 percent.