Originally Posted by baseball

It's either a smoke-screen for their lobby group to pursue a larger agenda, or the company is trying to leverage their influence to do the things that republicans already want to do, and therefore increase their credibility and enhance their influence.

The company (and all corporations) don't like to dicker with government bureaucracy. If they can cut out government Air Traffic Control, they can start to peel back the onion.

Management's aren't happy the unions got FAR 117 up and they aren't loving the current ATP requirements. I would estimate that if the airline lobby comes out in favor of privatization and helps the administration pursue it, then the administration and their sympathetic congressmen and senators may come out in favor of relaxing 117 and in particular lowering ATP rules.

Airline Managements want lower entry level pay, therefore they want lower ATP requirements. They are playing the long game now and trying to lower the entry level pay, and that might help them bring down all the pay scales.