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Talks on Private Air-Traffic Control Turn Serious in U.S.
Discussions about removing government management of the U.S. air-traffic control system are the most serious in two decades, prompted by budget cuts and uncertain funding for converting to satellite navigation. Insulating air-traffic management from politics would speed technology development while also providing steadier funding for it, said George Donohue, a former FAA associate administrator. (www.bloomberg.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
What I am worried about is the transfer of duties from the FAA to the Private corporation. Since I have worked for both the private sector and the government, when a service is privatized it has transition period that can be fairly rough, and that is an understatement. Some of the questions should include, how much time does the private system need in order to reach the capacity of todays commercial and general aviation traffic level? Will it be sixty days, a year, or mabe five years before the current traffic load is met?. Anything longer than a week is going to be met with pressure that is unbelievable. If privatizing the ATC just means that the federal government turn the ATC system over to a group of airlines with the same costs, then what have government accomplished in the transfer? The costs of the start-up corporation dictate that the costs will be higher to the consumer. Then you could have the profit factor of 20% added to what we are paying today, and a passenger could be looking at a surcharge that is around 20% of the cost of the ticket. It could even end general aviation and close many small airports. Once the airline industry starts the lobbyist effort to keep the status quo, this idea will disappear very quickly. In the end this try at privatization will answer the question of taking complex government services and privatizing them. The fact is that the government and private service organizations operate with the same basic problems. The old adage is if it isn't broken, then don't try to fix it.
Well, Gary, quite a bit broken, to some degree, and there is already a contract tower group in place so I don't think the transition would be horrific, as far as the operation went. They all operate under the auspice of the FAA and unless you know that a tower is contract, you can't tell any difference than one operated by FAA personnel. There are some towers that just actually need closing because of lack of use but they will not be with the government mentality on money of use it or lose it. It probably will be a shock for the controllers, as there will probably be some pay differences and other things. Unfortunately, that is life. In theory, you will se the FAA as a monitoring/supervisory as it progresses forward.
just a quick question. Do any of you use Flight Service, and if so, do you feel the delivered product has improved since Lockheed took over almost 8 years ago?
I use FSS. The briefing product was very good when the FAA ran it, but some briefers were downright miserable. It was kinda like going to the post office; you always got what you needed, but the experience depended on who you saw and their relationship with you.
Lockheed was awful when they first started; reaching a briefer was a bear, and the briefing product was marginal at times. They turned the ship around after a few years. The product is now as good as the FAA product was, and the briefers always exhibit professionalism.
Lockheed was awful when they first started; reaching a briefer was a bear, and the briefing product was marginal at times. They turned the ship around after a few years. The product is now as good as the FAA product was, and the briefers always exhibit professionalism.
I was not flying before Lockheed Martin took over FSS, but I think they're doing a fine job. I've never had to wait on the phone for more than 30 seconds for a briefer, and their newly available web-based briefing is quite nice too. I highly doubt the FAA could have created their own equivalent web interface that was as modern and responsive by themselves.
Interesting - things are going full circle. ATC was started by the airlines and was later taken over by the government.