A push by congressional Republicans to privatize air traffic control is causing splits within the airline industry and airline-related unions, prompting odd-bedfellow coalitions on both sides of the issue.
The fight has pitted Delta Airlines, which opposes the bill, against the trade association that represents most other large commercial carriers, Airlines for America.
Meanwhile, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has endorsed the legislation, while its union brethren at the Air Line Pilots Association have opposed it.
The House Transportation Committee on Feb. 11 approved the bill, titled the Air Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act, on a near-party line vote. It faces an uncertain future on the House floor and in the Senate.
That aviation safety is in need of updating is not in dispute. The Federal Aviation Administration is transitioning from a radar-based system to a GPS-based one, a process called NextGen. However, the process has gone over budget and is behind schedule, and the FAA’s inspector general reported that it will likely cost three times its initial $40 billion estimate.
In early February, Reps. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, and Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act, which would spin off the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control operations into a private, nonprofit entity. They point to a similar system used by Canada as proof that it can work.
“Report after report has said the FAA is incapable of modernizing,” Shuster said at a Feb. 10 hearing. He argues the bill would speed along the necessary technological development by removing air traffic control from the federal bureaucracy.
The new entity would be managed by an 11-member board. The transportation secretary would pick two members. The main commercial airline industry trade group — in this case, Airlines for America — would get four. The main non-commercial airline trade group would get two. The two largest labor unions for pilots and the air traffic controllers would get one each. Those 10 members would appoint a chief executive officer who also would sit on the board.
“The FAA would retain its role as the federal air safety regulator,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy for the free-market Reason Foundation. The legislation would move only the service part of air traffic control, the monitoring and guiding of aircraft, out of the agency. The FAA would still be the federal regulatory agency charged with enforcing the safety rules.
The new entity would be funded through user fees on the carriers and would have the power to set those fees. The FAA has been particularly affected by congressional budget fights and shutdowns, including the sequester. A self-funding entity would eliminate that problem.
“The current aviation system has served us well until recent years. Unfortunately, we no longer have a stable or predictable funding stream and this uncertainty has caused many serious problems for the system,” National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Paul Rinaldi told Congress.
Airlines for America, whose members include American, JetBlue, Southwest and United, has been one of the bill’s major boosters.
“For decades, while the U.S. has talked about the need for [air traffic control] reform, 60 other countries around the world have acted, and now our nation must do the same if we want to reclaim our role as a global leader,” said Airlines for America President Nicholas Calio after the bill was marked up.
Delta, which left the trade group last year in a dispute over congressional lobbying, has been the lone opponent among major air carriers. “There is simply no compelling reason to change a system that works so very well,” CEO Richard Anderson told Shuster and LoBiondo in a Feb. 2 letter.
Sources involved in the legislative push, speaking anonymously, have pointed out that adopting NextGen more quickly might be problematic for Delta, which has one of the oldest fleets. The average age of its planes is 17 years, compared to 11 for American and more than 13 for United.
“One observer notes that Delta is being difficult because NextGen would require it to invest in a lot of equipment for older jets,” reported trade magazine Aviation Week in a January profile of Anderson. Anderson has argued, however, that turning over air traffic control to a private agency would delay, not speed up, introduction of NextGen.
“Delta’s fleet age has nothing to do with NextGen implementation. We either have plans or already have contracts in place to make sure our entire fleet will meet or exceed NextGen capability deadlines. Delta has been an active proponent of NextGen technology implementation,” said Capt. Steve Dickson, senior vice president of flight operations for the airline.
Critics such as Rep. Pete DeFazio, D-Ore., call the bill a giveaway to the airline industry. Giving carriers four seats on the board would give them “effective control” over the new entity, DeFazio argued. Several liberal groups have echoed that argument. Public Citizen’s Congress Watch is leading a coalition called Americans Against Air Traffic Control Privatization.
Their efforts are being opposed by the union with the largest stake in the new system, the air traffic controllers. That’s largely because the legislation guarantees that the union’s labor contracts would carry over to the new entity.
“I have to congratulate you. You drive a tough bargain. I have never seen such strong labor protections in any piece of legislation that has a chance in a Republican-led Congress,” DeFazio told Rinaldi during the Feb. 10 hearing.
The Airline Pilots Association, by contrast, whose members wouldn’t be covered by the bill, has called the proposal “unsafe and unfair.” It appeared to moderate that position after a Democratic amendment was added to require new cockpit protection technology in new aircraft, a position the union advocated. A press release by the union stated that it was reiterating “our long-standing commitment to working with industry stakeholders and members of Congress to ensure that the United States continues to be a leader in aviation safety.” It did not urge members to vote against it. A spokesman for the union could not be reached.
