#FAAREAUTHORIZATION: KEEP IT SIMPLE S_ _ _ _D (April 2023)

I think about FAA Reauthorization circa 2023 differently. Shocker! My humble thinking embraces the KISS Principle. The Trades have their parochial agendas; consumer groups have theirs; elected officials/other branches of government have theirs; and the beat goes on.

As readers know, I love the game of golf. It is really hard to repeat the move performed yesterday unless there is constant/vigilant attention on the fundamentals. In golf they are grip, stance, and posture. If not checked, things go bad. Often sideways.

My simple mind sees this industry's foundation/efficiency beholden to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. Its efficiency is the unkept promise of the USG to an industry that delivers economic velocity every day. Other less-worthy promises are kept (EAS?).

The fact that reauthorizing the FAA every 5 years is political is numbing to me. It creates K-Street jobs, I guess. It often does little to enhance delivery of the product promised consumers or the government's treasury. Occasionally, members of one group or another will rejoice in some victory that is really a defeat for efficiency elsewhere.

But it is a pattern - has been for decades. Kinda like pattern bargaining where yesterday's inefficiencies are compounded by putting duct tape on a problem rather than owning that it really cannot be fixed without a complete redo. How dare you change?

THIS 2023 REAUTHORIZATION THING SHOULD BE ABOUT ONLY 1 THING -- MINUTES SAVED

What does this industry sell? My answer is time saved for the consumer travelling between nodes A and B relative to some competing mode. With rare exception, and certainly not from the airport community that has much to gain, I have not seen any stakeholder make time saved the priority it needs to be. Shortsighted - mouth shut.

Think: time is how flight crews are paid. If a duty day exceeds X minutes, they "time out". Additional rest is rightfully provided. The next flight will likely be delayed/cancelled. That will propagate through the system and impact far more consumers than those at the gate where the aircraft is now delayed.

In 2017, Albert and I did a piece of analysis that never saw the light of day. We measured block creep - time added to schedules in order that the industry could point to a time-based "A-14" arrival - or not. Between 2010-2016, the industry added 33M+ minutes to block times. 1,000+ more pilots were needed to fly the same schedule. Shortage?

Just think: For airports, pilots saved would have enabled airlines to add service without having to hire; For consumer advocates there would likely be less schedule disruption if an efficient ATC system was in place; For environmentalists there would be less carbon emission; aircraft routings would be more efficient - flights to Florida over holiday periods would not require the blessing of the USG.

Re-reg? Industry growth will only magnify today's glaring issues. Fix it.
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