What To Do?
Our airways seem to be overcrowded and much delayed. There is a great weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. What will we do?
Marion Blakey, just before she left her job as FAA administrator, wanted airlines to quit scheduling so many flights during peak traffic times. Many say the guvmint dropped the ball by not keeping the ATC system up to the needs of the airlines. There is enough finger pointing to go around and then some.
I have written of this before. I don’t know how to solve the problems, but I do know what to do next. It’s called peak-period pricing. Everybody would pay more to land or take off during peak traffic periods. It’s that simple. Demand for operations during peak periods is high. There is, in fact, so much demand that the supply is inadequate. When that situation exists in any market, you raise the price of the commodity that has demand exceeding supply. Voila! Buyers then decide if they want that commodity at the higher prices. Some will not, and they will lower their operations during peak periods, which is what the guvmint says it wants. How high do you raise peak-period operations? High enough to get supply and demand somewhat balanced.
Does this seem like a big “duh” to you? It does to me.
So, why hasn’t it been done? Near as I can tell, the guvmint ain’t got the guts. Every time it is mentioned, the hoi polloi scream bloody murder and the guvmint backs down.
Folks, we charge airlines to use our airports. If that is appropriate, why in the world wouldn’t it also be appropriate to charge them more to operate during peak traffic periods and less to operate during low traffic periods? Seems like a no brainer to me.
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Trainer–
Okay, I can surely understand your anonymity. And I love that website. That is a great source
Thanks for writing again.
Ralph Hood
Sorry Ralph but I still work for the FAA and right now they can and will seek and destroy any employee that they choose. The people in charge are not about aviation, they are setting up for contract jobs when they leave the FAA. You can read more here, http://www.faafollies.com/?p=275, they are self serving and there needs to be congressional insight.
TrainRider-
I wonder if you could quit being so wishy-washy and clarify your opinion of Marion Blakey (grin)?
Also wish you had put down your real name, but thanks for the comment anyway.
Ralph Hood
Marion Blakey spent her term as administrator touting NextGen and now she represents the companies that will sell it to the American taxpayer yet no one can tell us what it is. She has destroyed the FAA and its employee morale, check any employee attutude survey during her term. Now she has advise for the airlines. She is a lying, manipulative political hack.