I find it fascinating to watch people attempt to control what is often beyond control. If only a non-profit, non-government entity was in control of air traffic, the ills of airline travel would magically disappear. Or so Congress — and the airlines – would like us to believe.
As if…
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), between May 2016 and April 2017, 5,624,650 airline operations were conducted at U.S. airports.
80.28% or 4,515,517 operations were completed on time. When you stop and think about all the variables that go into a safe and timely flight, that is remarkable.
On the other side of the coin, 1,109,133 flights were delayed.
The top three reasons for delayed flights are: Air Carrier (44.29%); Weather (29.47%); and Volume (12.58%).
None of us has any control of weather, obviously. So those 326,899 delayed flights were simply the victim of Mother Nature.
BTS defines an Air Carrier Delay as “within the airline’s control (e.g. maintenance or crew problems, aircraft cleaning, baggage loading, fueling, etc.).” So 491,191 flights were delayed as a result of the airline’s action… or inaction.
And how many of us have looked at an airline schedule display in a terminal and found more flights scheduled to depart than the airport has capacity to safely handle? That’s another 139,503 flights delayed due to trying to stuff 10 pounds of crap into a five-pound bucket.
While I’m no airline executive, I’d suggest two things before spinning off ATC.
First, disperse flight schedules more evenly across a wider time frame. This would help alleviate volume delays and make it easier to accommodate and reduce air carrier delays.
Second, I’d push for all it’s worth to lay 30 more miles of concrete in the form of runways.
Back in 2011, a New York Times article stated, “In the first half of 2011, the region’s airspace — defined as the big three airports, plus Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, which caters to corporate jets, and Philadelphia International Airport — handled 12% of all domestic flights but accounted for nearly half of all delays in the nation.”
Airports will forever be the choke point for operations. Each runway is allowed one aircraft at a time. More runways equal more aircraft. Where you put those runways is a completely different discussion.
And I doubt many people like the idea of burying the New Jersey turnpike east of Newark into a tunnel to make way for a new parallel runway. Fewer still would like the idea of filling the East River and Flushing Bay to add another Runway 13/31.
We can control — to a certain degree — where we put runways. Just 30 miles of concrete, strategically located, will do far more to alleviate system strain than standing up an entirely new ATC organization.
And best of all, that would allow the GA community to be on the same side of a funding fight as our air carrier siblings.
Let’s control what we can control.
Without a lot of thought at this point perhaps the marriage of two technologies could benefit GA.
1. We all know of the 2020 mandate to have ADSB in our planes.
2. It seems all the major auto and computer compaies are working on self-driving cars.
3. IF the auto companies (or our precious ‘regulators) would mandate a ‘smart’ GPS for the car the same ADSB approach would allow a massive increase in the production of such hardware and thus the quantity of units. This would bring the price down for ALL, us in GA included. As I’m driving around in my car I would ‘see’ the other cars and thus my smart car be able to avoid a collision with them – the same technology just on a different scale?
Correction in the spelling for Floyd Bennett Field
Excellent strategy, Ben. Once an airliner is airborne, you rarely see another save for the terminal environment. And, more airplanes can be ‘stuffed’ into the Class A airspace above FL280 via RVSM these days already. So breaking the capacity issue into ground and air segments is an EXCELLENT idea to blunt the move toward privatizing ATC to solve “problems.” GA … are ya listening ?
So what is it that the folks who want to break ATC away from FAA want? Answer: a stable funding stream AND … CONTROL. As you said in your candid editorial question of a couple of weeks ago addressed to one member of the aviation subcommittee … ‘Don’t bring us problems … bring us solutions and DO YOUR JOB!’ In essence … stop flapping your jaws and get to work. You were correct to be so blunt. As to control, THAT is what the airlines really want. For all its ills, the FAA does have a federal responsibility to regulate the airspace for use by ALL … not just the airlines. We could identify and solve each of the problems that are there if only the regulators — in Congress AND the FAA — did their jobs. It’s like someone who doesn’t know how to cook getting a new pot to solve that problem.
Finally, the high cost of adopting ADS-B for light GA aircraft is already driving many operations away from the larger airports and will do a better job after 2020. Nearly a year into the ADS-B rebate and only ~1/3 of the $500 rebates have been claimed. THAT says a lot. Even with price drops and other incentives, many folks are still resisting equipage. So ADS-B itself is proving to be a pseudo method of keeping GA away from the larger airports. Many GA pilots don’t go there anyways.
I think the whole thing is a ruse to gain control of the airspace by the airlines and for Congress to be able to blame others for the ills of ATC … when, in fact, THEY aren’t doing their jobs … as you already said. It’s time to put an Administrator in charge of the FAA who knows what they’re doing and who is well versed in aviation matters and knows how to get the job done vs giving slick speeches and flying around on N1. Likewise, it’s time to replace the folks on the aviation subcommittee who do the same thing. Get it done or … GET OUT!
Excellent perspective Ben. Wish all the folks in Congress would read this article.
Has anybody heard of Floyd Benit field, I believe it was the first Muncipa airport in the nation. I hear it was pretty important during WWll.