Jet lags soar

Sal LaRosa isn't supposed to be here.

Standing outside a bustling United Airlines gate at O'Hare International Airport, his rolling suitcase rests in one hand and a laptop is slung over his shoulder.

LaRosa is to be in New York, but his flight from Denver was abruptly canceled Thursday night.

"They put me up in a fleabag motel and gave me a $10 voucher for food -- which pretty much covered a soda," the building supply executive said Friday.

"Today, instead of a direct flight, I had a layover in Chicago," he adds gruffly. "I've missed three conference calls and a business meeting so far today."

LaRosa's situation is too common. He is just another flier falling through the ever-widening cracks of an overbooked aviation system plagued by delays, cancellations and inefficiencies.

Unfortunately for everyone looking to fly in the next few years, it is going to get worse before it ever gets better.

On Friday the Federal Aviation Administration announced that delays were up nationwide 19 percent this summer. Last year was the worst year in the history of aviation for delays. Plus, those FAA figures take into account only delays caused by weather, lack of airspace and airport problems.

Airline-caused delays, such as lack of planes or scheduling mishaps, are not included in the numbers.

"The system is being pressed to its limits," said Barry Cooper, the FAA's director of the Great Lakes region.

The problem, experts say, is multifaceted.

First, the number of flights continues to increase -- up 3 percent this year and projected to double by 2025.

Second, the airlines are struggling for a profit and running few planes with extra room for passengers left stranded by canceled flights.

Third, the out-of-date air traffic control system doesn't make good use of airspace and chokes up during even minor weather problems.

"It has all sort of come to a head this summer," said aviation expert Terry Trippler of Cheapseats.com.

For the Chicago area, that seems to be especially true.

O'Hare, which is constantly ranked as the worst airport in the nation for delays, saw about 11,393 delays from June through August out of about 240,000 flights, according to recently released FAA figures. Those numbers also don't account for airline-caused delays.

Seemingly bucking the national trend, O'Hare's delays are down slightly, about 4 percent, from last summer.

But aviation experts say that is not a sign of great improvement. Delays have been so high at O'Hare that for several years the FAA has capped the number of daytime flights allowed.

Meanwhile, Midway has seen significantly more delays this summer, up 49 percent to 608 (out of 79,000 flights) from 406 last summer.

The dominant carriers at both airports blame the number of delays on the weather and an air traffic control system that largely relies on 1960s technology.

"We are doing everything we can," said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.

But other experts say part of the problem also is overbooked flights that, when canceled, leave fliers with no other options but long layovers and motel stays. American, United and Southwest airlines disputed that contention.

"We are having these horror stories of three- and four-day layovers … that we didn't used to have," Trippler said.

For their part, FAA officials are pointing to the increase in delays and misery for fliers as a reason for federal lawmakers to approve billions of dollars in spending over the next several years to upgrade the air traffic control system.

With new computer programs and GPS and satellite technology, controllers could fit more planes in the skies, Cooper says.

"The system isn't designed to take this volume," Cooper said. "If you increase capacity you reduce delays."

Locally, the airlines and Chicago officials are looking forward to the completed expansion of O'Hare to cut delays. A new runway and control tower should be on line by next fall, but the $8.2 billion project's funding is in question and construction already is behind schedule.

Meanwhile, there seems to be little short-term relief in sight for fliers like Mike Simorka, a New Jersey resident who shuttles often to O'Hare on business.

"Between the recent changes in security requirements and the stacking of flights -- having so many come in or go out at the same time -- I'm always stuck in a slow-moving line," he said while waiting for a flight at O'Hare on Friday.