NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen is cautioning that the air transportation system must remain a national system accessible to all users as other aviation groups push for “transformational change” and FAA privatization.

Privatization and transformational change have surfaced as key concepts in the debate surrounding the next reauthorization bill. But the groups disagree on how much change is necessary and whether privatization is the right path for the U.S. system.

At a recent Air Line Pilots Association symposium on the future of aviation, Sean Kennedy, senior vice president of global government affairs for Airlines for America (A4A), cited concerns surrounding funding stability, outdated ATC systems and reduced capacity, and said, “We are at the point where we have to look at something that’s transformational.” 

He reiterated that A4A is looking at other organizations, such as Nav Canada, and systems for concepts that could help reform the U.S. aviation system. While those systems may not be the answer, he said, they have “aspects that are interesting….We definitely need to be looking at other models.”

A4A, he says, is “encouraging the Hill to go long, go big.”

 Access Issues Key

Bolen, however, cautioned that the aviation community must decide what is the problem it is trying to solve and how to solve it. “From wheels up to wheels down, our members love flying in the U.S. most and say it’s the best system in the world,” he said.

The business aviation industry agrees that the aviation system needs to remain robust, and says fundamental to operations is access to airports and airspace. “As we look to FAA reauthorization, we will be carefully evaluating access issues, predictability issues and affordability issues,” he said.

As for privatization, Bolen stressed that the “space above our head is public airspace.” Funding of that airspace has been “remarkably stable and predictable,” but he notes that the question is whether or not that will be sufficient in the future. The business aviation industry continues to believe the fuel tax is the most efficient mechanism for users to pay into the system.

A second “spigot” of funding, the general fund, continues to shrink, he noted. The general fund contribution is designed to recognize the inherent public benefit from a robust airspace system, but Bolen cited a “failure of industry” to cohesively emphasize that message.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Paul Rinaldi also cautioned about simply adopting other systems to supplant the U.S. system. Privatized systems such as Nav Canada might not scale to airspace with the size, volume and complexity of the U.S., Rinaldi said. But funding stability remains a top concern for controllers, especially in light of the furloughs and risk to the air traffic controllers that surfaced when sequestration first took effect. 

When asked what the FAA would like to see in its funding reauthorization, Rich Swayze, assistant administrator for policy, international affairs and environment for FAA, replied, “a bill that’s not an extension.”

The FAA has not established a position on the most recent privatization talks, but Swayze noted that a simple, straightforward reauthorization could happen quickly. An ambitious reauthorization bill that seeks transformational change could take some time to complete. 

But he added that the aviation community must set priorities for what is most important and work toward achieving that goal.