Southwest, which operates half the flights at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, had the seventh-highest rate of involuntary bumps among the 18 U.S. airlines last summer. Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the most denied boardings, followed by Comair and its partner Delta Air Lines, according to government data.
Airlines could end up raising fares if the higher payments induce them to cut back on overselling their planes, said Daniel M. Kasper, managing director of LECG, a Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm that tracks the industry.
"By overbooking - that actually has the effect of holding ticket prices down a bit," Kasper said. "Going out with more empty seats will put pressure on them to raise prices across the board."
Any increases would come as airlines are raising various fees, such as charging for a second piece of checked luggage and imposing fuel surcharges.
Smaller regional carriers with legacy airlines said the change will particularly weigh on them. Regional carriers, such as Delta Connection carrier Comair, might be forced to drop service to less popular destinations, said Roger Cohen, spokesman for the Regional Airline Association.
"It's certainly going to hurt," Cohen said. "What the bumping rule is going to do is make it even tougher for airlines to continue to provide service to the smaller communities."
In addition to the bumping rule change, the Transportation Department announced measures to curb congestion at New York's crowded airports, where delays last summer had a domino effect at other airports.
Secretary Mary E. Peters said two new airspace routes will be opened out of New York. An emergency route through Canadian airspace could prevent weather delays by allowing airlines to avoid thunderstorms and high winds. The Federal Aviation Administration will also open a second westbound route to free up a heavily traveled "aviation corridor" out of New York.
Peters also proposed auctioning off slots to carriers at New York's crowded LaGuardia Airport.
Many delays at BWI last summer were tied to delays at LaGuardia and the New York area's two other main airports, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty.
"Any improvements to the congested Northeast airspace should have some benefit to BWI," said airport spokesman Jonathan Dean.
At BWI yesterday, arriving passengers had mixed feelings about the new measures.
