The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

Most are aware by now of “the collapse of the I-35W bridge” in Minneapolis this week. Our thoughts and prayers extend to those who have suffered as the result of this tragedy, and our commendation to the many ordinary citizens who stepped into the breach and took action to prevent even more from suffering. Our sympathies also go out to the thousands of Minnesotans whose daily lives are now going to be seriously disrupted for quite some time.

According to news reports, the bridge in Minneapolis was about 40 years old, and the blame game of who knew or should have known that the structure was failing is well under way.

When I awoke this morning, I thought about the bridge, then for some reason turned my attention to another aspect of the American infrastructure that is also collapsing around us – our aging air transport system, specifically, the airports, airlines, air traffic control system, and the mechanisms that fund and manage each. In the main, our network of airports and the methods used to guide traffic between and among them pre-date the I-35W bridge. In many cases, the management methods used by federal agencies and airlines pre-date manned flight, which first occurred in 1903. On 2nd thought, they might pre-date the existence of man on Earth.

While we have spent untold billions since 2001 to make sure that your grandmother doesn’t sneak anything dangerous onto an aircraft via her shoes or Dasani water bottle, precious little has been done to drag the safety, comfort, convenience, and operational efficiency of our air transport system kicking and screaming into the 21st century. This has occurred in spite of the fact that about $11 billion is collected each year from ticket taxes and other fees for precisely this purpose.

With help from Delta Air Lines which is encouraging its customers to seek congressional action to rebalance the funding mechanism, and some editing of my own (that my friends at Delta probably don’t care for), I sent the following letter to my elected national representatives. I’ve also sent a copy to congressman “Ron Paul” (R-TX), who seems to consistently advocate for a more efficient government. If so inclined, you may wish to follow suit.

Letter to U.S. Senators Alexander and Corker, and Rep. Blackburn:

I strongly encourage you to upgrade our nation’s air traffic control system, and to ensure that the fees to fund and operate the new system are fair to all air travelers.

America’s outdated system will continue to create more delays for passengers like me. Our air traffic control system is based on 1950s radar technology that is not able to keep pace with the ongoing introduction of thousands of new corporate airplanes. The current outdated system also requires planes to fly hundreds of thousands of extra miles and waste millions of gallons of fuel, which is not environmentally responsible.

Moreover, having proven itself incapable of managing a large professional workforce, the FAA should be privatized at the earliest opportunity. In a similar vein, the Department of Transportation should sanction, and if need be suspend or revoke the operating certificate of scheduled commercial air carriers (e.g., Northwest) that prove themselves incapable of successfully completing an acceptable ratio of their published flight schedule.

Beyond technology and management methods, our current system is using an outdated 1970s funding formula that forces passengers like me to subsidize those who fly in private aircraft. Everyone should pay his or her fair share.

In short, I strongly encourage you to take immediate action to update our air traffic control system with modern technologies (e.g., GPS), modern and accountable management, and funding methods that are fair to all users.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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