More money for air traffic control hires in House-passed FAA bill
The House of Representatives has approved a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for another five years, a move that includes provisions for the hire of more air traffic controllers and allows pilots to extend their working life—both seen as fixes for a system that has seen massive breakdowns in the form of cancellations and delays for passengers.
The measure passed in a bipartisan 351-69 vote and now heads to the Senate for approval.
The bill will allocate $4 billion a year for the Airport Improvement Program, help the agency expand the organization’s training and hiring of air traffic controllers and also includes language on refunds for passengers.
William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, says the yet to be finalized bill is “very much a work in progress” but said there were items in the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill that are good for consumers and good for competition.
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“We’re especially pleased that the amendment from Rep. [Chris] Deluzio and Rep. [Jesus] Garcia calling for a thorough examination of the harms of airline mergers was approved,” he says. “However, the effort to roll back the DOT’s full-fare advertising rule would make airfares less transparent and hit millions of travelers with sticker shock; we hope this effort fails. We’re eager to work with members of both parties in both Houses to help protect competition and consumers.”
Airlines for America (A4A)’s President and CEO, Nicholas Calio said, “First and foremost, the bill ensures that the U.S. remains the global gold standard of aviation safety and works to enhance efficiency by supporting technological advancements and government reforms that will modernize operations.”
U.S. Travel’s President and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a release: “The United States requires a more modern, efficient and secure air travel system to meet increasing demand and grow the U.S. economy. The bipartisan House bill is a critical step in correcting years of federal underinvestment, which has left the system with 1,200 fewer air traffic controllers than a decade ago.
“The bill includes provisions to increase investments in airport infrastructure, accelerate the deployment of air traffic control technologies and address workforce shortages, relieving strain on the system and increasing our country’s global competitiveness.
“It’s what travelers and the industry demand: Over half of Americans say they would travel more for leisure if the travel experience were less of a hassle.
“The U.S. Travel Association thanks Chairman [Sam] Graves (Minnesota), Ranking Member Larsen, Chairman [Garret] Graves (Louisiana), Ranking Member [Steve] Cohen and the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their efforts to advance the bill. We urge the U.S. Senate to act on an FAA reauthorization bill as soon possible.”
A major provision of the bill, contested by some, was raising the mandatory retirement age of pilots from 65 to 67.
Captain Jason Ambrosi, president of Air Line Pilots Association, said in a tweet that raising retirement age for pilots would “weaken airline pilot qualification requirements, disrupt airline operations, increase risk into the U.S. aviation system and raise ticket prices.”
Delta Mergers SkyBonus with SkyMiles Program
This week, Delta announced that it would be overhauling SkyBonus, the small and mid-sized business travel rewards program.
SkyBonus will morph into SkyMiles for Business in October. Through SkyBonus, corporate members earned and redeemed points with Delta in a separate system from the mainstream SkyMiles program. Delta said this week that the new program will have business members earning SkyMiles instead of points. Employees of member companies can add miles to their personal SkyMiles accounts when traveling for work while their company earns miles.
Members need to opt in to the new program to continue to have access to their accounts once the chance is made. SkyBonus points will be accrued into the new program and be transferred into SkyMiles.
