Former Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey believes she scored
major accomplishments while heading the U.S. aviation agency, but says the FAA
needs "to take care of business" if the United States is to maintain its leading
position in aviation.
In a farewell speech Sept. 11 at the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., the
nation's top aviation regulator the past five years, said on the sixth
anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. that "whether we're six or
sixty years out, it will always be one of those rare points on the calendar --
much like December 7th -- when you stop for a moment and remember. You pause,
remember where you were, and think of the victims, the families, and the heroes.
That's a day that changed aviation. That's a day that changed us all."
Blakey, who takes over as head of the Aerospace Industries Association
(AIA) starting Nov. 12, said "today is the anniversary of the catalyst of what
could be the biggest change in aviation -- maybe the biggest change in how
Americans live...We went from full-stop -- everything on the ground -- to record
delays just six years later.
"When the new millennium dawned, none of us would have believed we'd need
to remove articles of clothing in a public place like the airport. We would've
been aghast at the notion of putting our personal toiletries in clear plastic
bags for all to inspect. Removing shoes and standing next to an X-ray machine
was something that only happened in emergency rooms." She stated.
"I'm very proud of what we at the FAA and as an industry have
accomplished in five years. This is the golden age of safety, the safest period
in the safest mode in the history of the world...The launch of the FAA's Flight
Plan proved to be an idea that got better and better as the years have gone by.
By linking this strategic plan to pay, we have gotten buy-in from employees in a
way that's rare in government. By asking the aviation community to help us focus
our efforts, we created a list of just 30 goals. That makes resources much
easier to manage. We're operating more like a business, and we have the
accounting system in place to prove it." Blakey stated.
"Internationally, we've never been stronger. In the past five years,
we've signed nine bilateral aviation safety agreements, and we have three more
in the pipeline. We've opened offices in New Delhi, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, and we
are working on one for Brasilia. We've provided technical assistance to more
than a hundred countries and we are forging lasting partnerships to expand the
benefits we expect from NextGen. We're setting the pace for the planet, and
that's a tremendous accomplishment. Being the gold standard for aviation is an
enviable place to be" she crowed.
"But even with all that, the challenges that remain on the table are far
more pressing than the need for me to stand here and talk about how well things
have gone. These five years have been a time of achievement, but unless we take
care of business, much of this won't matter," Blakey stated.
The FAA's safety chief said she "drew a line in the sand" regarding
runway safety even though serious runway incursions have dropped 55 percent
since 2001.
The FAA in partnership with its controllers and industry are stepping up
efforts to reduce the number of runway mishaps at U.S. airports, disclosing five
short-term initiatives. The initiatives respond to recent runway incursions
across the United States, including high-profile incidents in Chicago and Fort
Lauderdale.
She said "airports are already on the way to meeting new regulatory
requirements to update their runway markings. But we're asking them to speed up
their schedules for these projects. Airlines will enhance simulator training for
operations on the airport. And we're going to improve taxi clearances.
And the FAA with our controllers union is committed to putting in place
an Aviation Safety Action program for controllers so that we have the benefits
of voluntary reporting of incidents in the control room, just like airlines do
in the cockpit," she added.
The redesign of airspace is also a critical deliverable. The FAA recently
issued a final decision for redesigning the New York, New Jersey, and
Philadelphia metropolitan area airspace covering 31,000-square-miles of heavily
populated area, affecting 21 airports. The FAA says the plan will simplify the
current air traffic system while reducing fuel consumption, carbon emissions and
aircraft noise.
"In New York and New Jersey, we're talking about a process that's been
ten years in the making. We have a workable solution, a solution that will cut
delays by 20 percent and reduces noise for 600,000 people," she noted.
Blakey left the FAA with an unenviable record on flight delays. June was
one of the worst for U.S. air travelers in the past 12 years, with nearly a
third of domestic flights delayed or canceled. The first six months of the year
had the most delays the industry has experienced since the government began
tracking flight delays in 1995.
Summer storms disrupted airline schedules, but Blakey said air carriers
shoulder much of the blame for late flights. "Passengers will continue to be fed
up with delays, and that's got to be taken more seriously by our airlines.
Airlines can control their own schedules. Competitive pressures or no, an
airline's on-time performance increasingly matters and will be under increasing
scrutiny.
"To be clear, the airlines need to take a step back on the scheduling
practices that are at times out of line with reality. Passengers are growing
weary of schedules that aren't worth the electrons they're printed on. Airline
schedules have got to stop being the fodder for late night monologues. And if
the airlines don't address this voluntarily, don't be surprised when the
government steps in," she warned.
The FAA maintains a flight cap at Chicago O'Hare International to limit
congestion. Over-scheduling at O'Hare, one of the world's busiest airports and a
major hub for
American Airlines and United Airlines, contribute to flight delays that
ripple through the U.S. aviation system. "Drawing down the schedule at Chicago
was not my happiest hour, but it could come to that on the East Coast as well,"
Blakey said.
"I also think that our business jet and general aviation partners need to
take a step in the right direction -- to be part of the solution. It's time to
face up to the fact that your practices need to change as well. Flying to and
from wherever you want whenever you want is not a free utility. You need to
expect to pay for it. The other users shouldn't have to pay your freight and on
your timetable" she believes.
Blakey said adoption of advanced air traffic control tools, such as
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), is also part of the
solution, and "the ADS-B contract award to ITT put in place the commitment to
acquire ground infrastructure."
She said the airlines are going to have to embrace the change involved.
"Regrettably, ours is a world in which we wait for the other guy to step up, and
then maybe we will, too. We need to stop the phenomenon in aviation of running
to the back of the line. Let's see a push to be among the first to
equip...Aviation can no longer afford for the full-performance fleet to be the
exception."
In a recurring theme, Blakey said the U.S. Congress needs to accept a new
paradigm. "Not only is the technology in place to reduce the number of air
traffic control facilities, but it offers major benefits in service and safety.
Bottom line: the taxpayer shouldn't be expected to pay for a scenario that
outdated technology once made mandatory.
"Failure to move forward on the (FAA) reauthorization is a tacit
acceptance of gridlock. Except this time, when the modernization programs lag
behind, we'll all know that it wasn't mismanagement by the FAA that allowed it
to happen.
"And status quo legislation for a few years is much more risky than
taking on the tough financing questions now and addressing the heart of the
problem -- the need for a stable, cost-based funding stream that allows for
adequate, dependable investment" Blackey stated.
