"Change"
Marion C. Blakey,
Aero Club of
Good afternoon, and thank
you, Paula [Hochstetler]. You know, in the last days of my tenure, it’s
wonderful to look around this room and see so many colleagues and friends, so
many people I want to say thank you to. I owe much of this audience a great
deal — sage counsel, hard work, endless briefings, candid advice — as I say,
I’m very grateful for a period of government service I wouldn’t take anything
for. And then there are a few folks behind the scenes I want to thank as well —
my husband Bill and my daughter Mona, who joins us today from college in
You know, there are
anniversaries of many things — and then there’s 9/11. Whether we’re six or
sixty years out, it will always be one of those rare points on the calendar —
much like December 7th — when you stop for a moment and remember.
You pause, remember where you were, and think of the victims, the families, and
the heroes.
That’s a day that changed
aviation. That’s a day that changed us all.
And, of course, we’re only
two days away from my own personal anniversary, five years at the FAA. And my,
oh my, how things have changed in five years, which is what brings us all here
today.
Speaking of anniversaries,
I’ve got another one for you. We’re nine days past the anniversary of the
launch of the ATM. Now only in this audience would I find people who are thinking
Air Traffic Management — but no, the Automatic Teller Machine was born 38 years
ago in
Let’s face it, before ATMs,
the word PIN was a reference to your grandma’s sewing kit. I do remember a bit
of resistance to the ATM, but I suppose it went the way of the resistance to
the microwave, the PC, the Internet, or, I guess, the outhouse. Change is a
good idea.
Aviation is undergoing a
similar revolution. Today is the anniversary of the catalyst of what could be
the biggest change in aviation — maybe the biggest change in how Americans
live, now that I think about it. We went from full-stop — everything on the
ground — to record delays just six years later. Aviation is back, and, let’s face it,
When the new millennium
dawned, none of us would have believed we’d need to remove articles of clothing
in a public place like the airport. We would’ve been aghast at the notion of
putting our personal toiletries in clear plastic bags for all to inspect.
Removing shoes and standing next to an X-ray machine was something that only
happened in emergency rooms.
But
not any more. When Kip Hawley stood here a month or so ago,
he referenced 18 layers of security. Not all that long ago, I doubt that most
of us thought about anything more than one. But change is indeed here. With
security, we have agreed as a nation not to resist change. In fact, we expect
everyone to be part of it. When the announcement in the airport, or on the
Metro, or at Union Station says be on the lookout for suspicious packages, we
do it. And we don’t like it when others don’t.
Right now, I’m guessing that
a few of you are wondering why the talk of change when the temptation for
someone in my shoes is to be taking a victory lap? Well, let’s take a look.
I’m very proud of what we at
the FAA and as an industry have accomplished in five years. This is the golden
age of safety, the safest period in the safest mode in the history of the
world. As bullet points on our collective resume go, that’ll do. The launch of
the FAA’s Flight Plan proved to be an idea that got better and better as the
years have gone by. By linking this strategic plan to pay, we have gotten
buy-in from employees in a way that’s rare in government. By asking the
aviation community to help us focus our efforts, we created a list of just 30
goals. That makes resources much easier to manage. We’re operating more like a
business, and we have the accounting system in place to prove it. Our major
capital investments drew finger-wagging editorials back in the 1990s. Now, our
major capital investments are 98.5 percent on time and 100 percent on budget.
We got a shot in the arm when GAO took us off its high-risk list for financial
management. That was one of those things you want to happen, but it’s like
asking Santa for a Cadillac. Some things just don’t fit in a sleigh.
Internationally, we’ve never
been stronger. In the past five years, we’ve signed nine bilateral aviation
safety agreements, and we have three more in the pipeline. We’ve opened offices
in
But even with all that, the
challenges that remain on the table are far more pressing than the need for me
to stand here and talk about how well things have gone. These five years have
been a time of achievement, but unless we take care of business, much of this
won’t matter. Aviation is at the place where
So what do I see as the
challenges? In the short term, the FAA’s recent Call for Action was a line in
the sand that said enough is enough when it comes to runway safety. Even though
serious runway incursions have dropped 55 percent since 2001, the number has
stubbornly plateaued in the last three years. These are very serious accidents
waiting to happen that we can do something about. No question, the increase in
lesser, more technical violations is a warning sign. Our Call to Action meeting
last month ended with everyone agreeing to make major changes within 60 days.
Airports are already on the way to meeting new regulatory requirements to
update their runway markings. But we're asking them to speed up their schedules
for these projects. Airlines will enhance simulator training for operations on
the airport. And we’re going to improve taxi clearances.
And the FAA with our
controllers union is committed to putting in place an ASAP program for
controllers so that we have the benefits of voluntary reporting of incidents in
the control room, just like airlines do in the cockpit.
Also in the short term, the
redesign of airspace is a critical deliverable. In
But even with all the
near-term operational and procedural steps factored in, I predict passengers
will continue to be fed up with delays, and that’s got to be taken more
seriously by our airlines. No, you can’t control Mother Nature, and our air
traffic control system I’ll address in a minute, but airlines can control their
own schedules. Competitive pressures or no, an airline’s on-time performance
increasingly matters and will be under increasing scrutiny.
To be clear, the airlines
need to take a step back on the scheduling practices that are at times out of
line with reality. Passengers are growing weary of schedules that aren’t worth
the electrons they’re printed on. Airline schedules have got to stop being the
fodder for late night monologues. And if the airlines don’t address this
voluntarily, don’t be surprised when the government steps in. Drawing down the
schedule at
I also think that our
business jet and GA partners need to take a step in the right direction — to be
part of the solution. It’s time to face up to the fact that your practices need
to change as well. Flying to and from wherever you want whenever you want is
not a free utility. You need to expect to pay for it. The other users shouldn’t
have to pay your freight and on your timetable.
The long-term challenges are
no less compelling. The environment makes this list, and rightfully so. While
aviation represents less than three percent of the carbon footprint, we need to
do more to reduce what’s already a small number. Built into the heart of
NextGen is a comprehensive approach to managing all the environmental impacts
of aviation growth. We are developing better air traffic procedures now and
have proposals to enhance technology and use alternative fuels. We need to go
about it in a smart, effective way with a broad coalition of our international
partners at our side. For example, Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot and I announced at the Paris Air Show in June a plan
to accelerate our major air traffic control initiatives NextGen and SESAR, to
develop greener transatlantic flights faster over the next two years.
Internationally, it’s clear
that no “one size fits all” approach will be effective. What’s even more clear is that countries around the world agree with
us: Unilateral imposition of an emissions trading systems is a
non-starter. Hopefully, we can all find a way forward at the ICAO Assembly next
week that will foster effective action and not enrich lawyers.
And finally, to what I think
is the challenge that’s a linchpin for all the others. NextGen is aviation’s
ATM. For those of you who’ve joined us late, in this case, ATM is not a
reference to air traffic management. Just like the launch of the ATM in 1969,
The Next Generation Air Transportation System isn’t an idea for tomorrow. The
blueprints are printed. The contracting is beginning, and if we don’t get it
done, shame on us. That pronoun — we — starts at this podium and stretches all
the way to the Hill, including the whole of the aviation community in between.
NextGen’s solution to the
capacity issue is critical. We’re already moving quickly. The ADS-B contract
award to ITT last week put in place the commitment to acquire ground
infrastructure. The NPRM that lays out the standards and
minimal requirements for equipage will be released at the end of the month — no
mean feat.
But the challenges as I see
it are clear and real. First, the FAA. I’d tell my
great partner and friend Bobby Sturgell, our acting administrator, you’ve got
your work cut out for you. The FAA must be rock solid in its commitment to
performance-based technology and procedures like RNAV and RNP. It needs to stay
the course on the Operational Evolution Partnership — the OEP — to save fuel
and reduce delays. And it needs to be unwavering in its pursuit of the NextGen
arm-in-arm with the aviation community.
Second, the airlines and all
the operators in our system are going to have to embrace the change involved.
Regrettably, ours is a world in which we wait for the other guy to step up, and
then maybe we will, too. We need to stop the phenomenon in aviation of running
to the back of the line. Let’s see a push to be among the first to equip. And
the FAA needs to make sure that the benefits, the rewards, for doing so accrue
quickly and early. Aviation can no longer afford for the full-performance fleet
to be the exception.
And the FAA and Congress face
another challenge — the potential cost of operating the old system and NextGen
at the same time. When you’re paying two mortgages, one for the technology of
the 1960s and another for NextGen, things like ADS-B, SWIM, DataCom
and all the other programs that make up NextGen, there’s just not enough money
to go around. We need to step smartly through the transition. And that includes
the hard reality that with the advent of NextGen technology and procedures, there
simply is no need for the number of facilities we have in place today.
Those ATMs that I mentioned
before, they can stand alone in a 7-11. There’s no need for a full-service bank
when technology allows you to operate just as efficiently, and, I might add,
safely. The internet is pushing the envelope. You’d be hard-pressed to find an
E*Trade branch out there, because customers know you don’t need one.
Bottom-line businesses recognize this. The taxpayer needs us to recognize this
principle the same way.
And that’s where we are in
aviation. Congress needs to accept a new paradigm. Not only is the technology
in place to reduce the number of air traffic control facilities, but it offers
major benefits in service and safety. Bottom line: the taxpayer shouldn’t
be expected to pay for a scenario that outdated technology once made mandatory.
Let’s face it: we don’t have coal bins at home anymore because they’re
just not needed. Congress must take the important step to recognize what
businesses all over
And in closing, all of this
points to what may be the most critical challenge of all — the question of how
do you pay for all of this? The FAA’s authorization runs out in 19 days. So
when the last dollars in the Trust Fund are spent down by November, there won’t
be enough money to run the system. We’ll be in the rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul
scenario to make ends meet. Sure, there’s the prospect of short-term
extensions, but they don’t fundamentally move us forward.
Failure to move forward on
the reauthorization is a tacit acceptance of gridlock. Except this time, when
the modernization programs lag behind, we’ll all know that it wasn’t
mismanagement by the FAA that allowed it to happen.
And status quo legislation
for a few years is much more risky than taking on the tough financing questions
now and addressing the heart of the problem — the need for a stable, cost-based
funding stream that allows for adequate, dependable investment in the NextGen.
This is a time of a new
challenge, a new paradigm. It’s a time for everyone to move out of their
corner, engage and get it done. The need for change is here. Aviation is being
presented with something new, an ATM of its very own. The PIN for this is
cooperation — recognizing and embracing change. Wait and see will not launch
technology nor will it create a stable funding stream, a system that’s both
cost-based and fair. I’m urging you to help get this done.
The
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