My Wants/Hopes for 2023 (December 28, 2022)

Thinking/hoping that 2023 is the year that we can truly call post-Pandemic. It is a FAA Reauthorization year and that can mean much to many stakeholders. It has historically been an invitation for disparate stakeholders to have their pet projects become part of the legislation. Praying for simple and focused - but my cynical side knows that will not happen.

1. First and foremost, the industry sells time saved to all users of the system. Therefore, the government needs to make every effort to put the tools in place that they are responsible for providing that saves time. Time saved addresses many things - like needing fewer pilots, flight attendants, and others that are time-regulated. At the epicenter of time saved is air traffic control. FIX IT. It is foundational. All stakeholders benefit including consumers of the commercial air travel product when it comes to reliability. Business aviation benefits. And it will be critical if the innovative technologies that are being engineered today in labs might actually thrive.

2. Recognize an industry in transformation and stop funding yesteryear's projects that have little to do with making today's system the best it can be. Any monies saved should be used to train a workforce of an industry that is inextricably tied to the growth of the nation's economy.

3. Obviously there will be "consumer-related" actions that will be taken. The industry has invited many to the party. This area is delicate and should be considered as such when decision makers think about making law/regulations that are expensive to incorporate. There are many unintended consequences that could result when consumer-related issues are considered for headlines and not the reality that deregulation's promise of lower fares just might be compromised.

4. I do a lot of work in the airport space. I am tired of the PFC argument the airports make. And I am tired of the airlines calling it a tax. Airplanes getting bigger fundamentally change the equation for how to build infrastructure. Yes, LAX and JFK are important, but what about airports that were discovered during the Pandemic as having attributes that the air travel consumer is seeking out in the search for an experience? These "smaller airports" will need bigger hold rooms, baggage systems, and expanded curb space. The PFC is not a one size fits all solution to all airports. Let's make monies available where demand is present and recognize that not all commercial airports will prove to be viable.

5. For those who read me you know that I am truly worried about the potential loss of competition in the system. Southwest is roughly 20% of the domestic system. The ULCCs are 13%. Recognize that Southwest is no longer the price disciplinarian that it was in 2010. It is the ULCC sector that can be the check and balance that ensures the consumer benefits the government promised. DO NO HARM!

#swelbar