minnesota - Midwest Flyer

Blakey Finally Admits
That Airline Delays Are Result of Scheduling Practices,
Not Air Traffic… Not GA!
Too Little, Too Late?
by Dave Weiman
FAA Administrator Marion
Blakey with EAA President Tom
Poberezny at the “Meet The
Boss” forum, July 26, during
EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wis.
Dave Weiman
dialog ue
With FAA Administrator
Marion Blakey closing her
FAA
office door for the
last time on
September 13, after
completing her
five-year contract,
many of us are asking,
just who will
the Bush
Administration
get to replace her?
Deputy Administrator Bobby
Dave Weiman
Sturgell becomes the acting administrator
until a new FAA chief is
appointed and confirmed by the
Senate. Sturgell is a former military
and airline pilot, so he knows something
about aviation and how the system
works. And according to AOPA,
he was a key player in helping to
push through the latest improvements
to the Washington, D.C., Air Defense
Identification Zone. But he is probably
overly qualified for the Bush
4 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007
Administration to make the appointment
permanent, yet another strictly
political or controversial appointment
may not go well with the anti-Bush
Congress.
Jaws dropped during Blakey’s
farewell speech on September 11 to
an industry group in Washington,
D.C., when she blamed airline delays
on scheduling practices, not on air
traffic control, and not on general aviation,
which accounts for a small percentage
of the traffic affecting the
hubs. She even hinted that if the airlines
don’t shape up, government
intervention is a real possibility. (See
guest editorial by AOPA President
Phil Boyer, on page 7.)
Blakey’s comments also got the
attention of Illinois Democrat,
Congressman Jerry Costello,
Chairman of the House Aviation
Subcommittee:
“While I wish Administrator
Blakey would have made these
remarks in January, when they might
have had some effect on the summer
travel season, I guess they are better
late than never,” said Costello. “As
she also noted, the FAA has all the
authority it needs to take action in
regard to scheduling and delays, as it
has done in the past. I have been
making similar points all year.”
Examining what the airlines are
doing to address delays, and why the
FAA has failed to step in to address
the scheduling issue, was a major
focus of the House Aviation
Subcommittee hearing held
September 26.
So why has Blakey waited until
now to tell the truth? Also,why didn’t
the FAA remain neutral on the funding
issue, rather than show favoritism
towards the airline industry?
As recently as the “Meet the Boss”
forum, July 26, during EAA
AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., Blakey
stood there before hundreds of us
pilots with her staff of FAA officials,
saying that we should support FAA’s