THE TENNESSEAN

By MIKE BOYD

April 2, 2008

 

There is a lot of talk about the FAA and airline safety. What we need to look at is FAA safety.

 

If the public had any idea how the FAA handles the air-traffic control system, airlines would be the least of their concern. Here are a couple of facts:

 

The traffic-control system is riddled with equipment failures that put the public at risk. Just two weeks ago, radars in Memphis went down, affecting the safety of hundreds of flights. These types of failures are common across the nation. The Government Accountability Office has stated that it's just a matter of time before a collision takes place. Some in Congress blame "airline scheduling practices" — ignoring the fact that airlines are trying to meet the nation's air-service demand. Consumer gadflies and self-appointed crusaders, none of whom have ever done any airline schedule or market planning, squeak about those "little jets" that airlines are using, instead of fewer big ones.

 

Airports, particularly smaller ones, are seeing service reduced, in major part due to the high costs of extra flying caused by the traffic-control system. And there's no fix on the horizon.

 

The FAA tells us that they have a new program — NextGen — to address the problem. The only fly in the ointment is that "NextGen" isn't new — it's just a combination of old, delayed programs.

 

Real problem is ignored

 

So where is Congress? They're just oh, so concerned about the passenger, lining up for a "passenger bill of rights,' they conveniently ignore that one of the core reasons for delays is the air-traffic control system.

 

The FAA's grand plan is the equivalent of building a Yugo and telling the world it's a space shuttle. From a schedule perspective, it's no different than an airline arriving six hours late, at the wrong airport, and telling customers that they're on time, because the carrier decided to change the schedule at the last minute.

 

The airline industry is reeling under $3 jet fuel, and is desperately looking to cut costs. Their biggest single cost factor is fuel. Air-traffic control wastes fuel massively. NextGen will do nothing to substantially change that. Yet, the airline industry is possibly the biggest supporter of NextGen, regardless of the fact that millions of those pricey gallons of fuel are being wasted because year after year the FAA can't get out of its own way in regard to traffic-control upgrades.

 

There is no credible air-traffic control upgrade in the works. The FAA is putting lives at risk because of a collapsing air-traffic control system.

 

The only progress in evidence is the controllers' union call for a investigation of NextGen. They are right: It should be stopped in its tracks. NextGen isn't a solution, so it makes no sense to squander any more money on the scam. Doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing.

 

NextGen is both — nothing and wrong. And it's passenger safety that's taking the hit.

 

Mike Boyd is president-owner of The Boyd Group, an aviation-consulting firm in Evergreen, Colo.