At the ACI-NA Show in Kansas City ...

... DOT Secretary Mary Peters calls for a revolution ... incoming chair Randy Walker talks NBAA ... and a thought from Mr. Air Traffic Control. DOT Secretary Peters told airports meeting here for the annual convention of the Airports Council International-North America that U.S. airline traffic has surpassed pre-9/11 levels, while international travel is growing at “an even faster pace.†The congestion in the skies and on the ground in the nation’s aviation system, she says, is a result of a system that’s failed. Peters calls for Congress, which failed to meet the September 30 deadline for FAA reauthorization, to be revolutionary – in particular as it relates to funding the NextGen air traffic control system. As at the AAAE convention in June, Peters’ speech was moved a bit to adjust to her moving target schedule related to other meetings (reauthorization, you know). One begins to wonder if the added drama is done for effect. Incoming chairman Randy Walker, director at Las Vegas, sat for an interview on hot button issues facing airports. The discussion turned to the National Business Aviation Association and its Static Display of business aircraft, discussed in last week’s blog. NBAA is running out of places to hold its powerful convention, primarily due to the Static Display. Numerous discussions last week in Atlanta pointed to Walker as the reason NBAA wasn’t going back to Vegas anytime soon. Problem is, he says, the static gets in the way of his customers – airlines and GA – at McCarran International. Walker relates that he offered to lease to NBAA ramp space at nearby Henderson Executive Airport, situated some 13 miles south of Vegas. Says he never got a response. As the business aviation market continues to grow and the NBAA event with it, Walker’s proposal ultimately may be the answer for the show. The day may come when NBAA will have to lease space in, say, Orlando and Vegas for the Static Display, and then alternate between the two cities. Finally, Neil Planzer, VP with Boeing’s ATM Stakeholder Solutions affiliate, and a man who seems to know as much about air traffic control as anyone, cautions that “the window†is closing on improving the ATC system. We need to go digital; we need transformation, not transition. And, says Planzer, the time is now: “If we lose 18 months, the game is over.†The labor-intensive, ground-based system we have in place, he says, is destined to fail. Thanks for reading. jfi