Originally Posted by
symbian simian
And how exactly do you envision it not being a monopoly? I don't think having two EWR towers competing for traffic would be a better solution than the $#!t show we have now. For railroads having competing transporting companies makes sense, having competing railway lines (the actual rails) does not. ATC is the same. And without competetion I don't see how the private sector woukld have any incentive to be cheaper to run.
Government contracts are no shining example of cut-throat competition and efficiency... but they are a darn sight more efficient than .gov bureaucrats and civil slackers doing the same job. I do however suspect that ATC controllers are about as effecient as they're going to get... they work hard, pay is lower than in the past and they're one of the very few groups of civil servants who actually *need* a pension since their retirement age is so low. But I'm certain there's bureaucratic overhead that can be tuned up.
The competition comes into play when you bid for and awarded the contract... you have to come in with better value (no longer just lowest bidder as in the past) to win, and then when the contract is up for renewal you have to compete again.
It's not a monopoly in the economic sense, you're simply executing a limited-duration contract you already competed for and won.