Some functions are better served by private industry.

The nation's air infrastructure and air traffic control is not one of those functions.

An air traffic system run by a private oligarchy of airline executives is unlikely to do anything but increase costs to everyone… except those who will get rich by being a part of the “management”. And they will dork it up six ways from Sunday. Amtrak isn’t nearly as complex as the US air traffic system. Would anyone call that a shining success?

Has the FAA been bureaucratically slow over the years? Yes, of course. And while we want things improved at a faster rate, privatization will most certainly not fix the issues. Will it improve air traffic delays? Unlikely, since statistics from the Bureau of Transportation show that ~80% of delays are due to the airlines themselves and weather.

I think most of us would agree that running an airline is difficult, and many Part 121 pilots are not in the least bit trusting of their management. Oh, by the way, that’s the same management that would be running the air traffic system. Do you think they won’t squeeze out G.A. and the corporate guys in favor of their own profits?

And while it is easy to throw stones at the FAA, our Air Traffic System is pretty good… arguably the best in the world, even when you consider the congestion. And no user fees!

But $46 billion over the next decade to implement privatization is one of many non-starters for me. Yes... $46,000,000,000
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...rol/102026976/
Imagine what steps we could make if the $46 billion were used for “modernization, not privatization”.

Ed Bolen, is the President and CEO of NBAA, and a brilliantly smart and clever executive. I had the honor of interacting with him in my previous non-flying job. Here’s his take on how it will affect American business aviation. It’s actually a very short read, despite how it might appear: https://www.nbaa.org/advocacy/testim...-Testimony.pdf

Bottom line: privatization puts profit ahead of safety and affordability. Our government has done a good job of creating safe skies. It’s a function that is well suited to government, despite the natural cynicism that we all feel about government bureaucracy.

We don’t need to privatize to modernize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EuQYJsf5F8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scnUl-j9tOw

https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-...erfect-example