FAA Chief Discusses Looming Changes For Pilots, Airlines and Travelers
By Scott McCartney
The Wall Street Journal
1/15/2010

Randy Babbitt has been in charge at the Federal Aviation Administration for
about seven months, but his “to do’’ list filled up quickly. The next year
will be crucial for his tenure as the top aviation regulator, and is likely
to have a broad impact on air travelers.

Just as he was still settling in, several issues exploded in front of him,
like outrage over the experience and actions of a regional airline crew
flying on behalf of Continental Airlines after a crash near Buffalo, N.Y.,
or two pilots working laptop computers instead of paying attention to their
Northwest Airlines flight. Some he has set out to tackle himself, like
several safety concerns. Some hornets’ nests he inherited, like the slow
pace of modernization of the nation’s air-traffic control system, a program
dubbed “Next Gen.”

“It’s a huge challenge but it’s a good challenge,’’ Mr. Babbitt said in an
interview. “We’re going to do some really interesting things. We’re making
strides in air safety.’’

After a news conference in Houston highlighting new air-traffic control
technology in use over the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Babbitt talked about plans
for the next year, when the FAA will roll out a slew of changes that will
impact air travel. New training standards will likely be proposed for
regional airlines, requiring them to step up to training levels practiced
at mainline airlines.

“I’ve been a long advocate of one level of safety,’’ he said.

He wants your flying to be safer. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt
testifying before a Senate subcommittee in December. The FAA will also put
forward new rules on pilot duty time. Fatigue has become a major
concern?pilots can be scheduled for no more than eight hours of actual
flying, but they can be on duty as long as 16 hours, and then back at it
with a short night’s sleep. A committee of 18 people from across the
industry has studied the issue, including the science of sleep and fatigue,
and come to consensus on some changes. But they couldn’t agree “on more
than a casual few,’’ Mr. Babbitt said. Airlines and pilots don’t see the
issue eye to eye, so the FAA will decide.

The FAA has drafted new rules and they are now being finalized, for
publication likely by early spring, he said. A transition period will be
proposed to give the industry time to adapt ? airline schedules will need
to be reworked, labor contracts may have to be renegotiated, the economics
of the business may change and where pilots will be based may change.

There’s broad support, Mr. Babbitt said, for letting pilots fly at least a
little bit more than eight hours a day. A reduction in the length of time
they can be on duty also is likely. That means less time spent sitting
between flights, for example, and likely more time off duty for rest before
getting back in the cockpit the next day.

“We want to make sure we have a fair system that … achieves a new level of
safety,’’ he said.

He also thinks the country will begin seeing some successes in the FAA’s
modernization effort.

“I’m really optimistic. Next-Gen is going to be sort of
`self-invigorating.’ As we begin to show successes, which we are doing here
today, and people see this is actually working and begin to see what the
potential is, I think the rest will follow,’’ he said. “The problem that we
suffered is that there was a lot of time spent on the drawing board. … But
now it’s left the drawing board.’’

For travelers, the worry is it will come too late. If new technology
doesn’t roll out fast enough as the economy rebounds and traffic returns to
the sky, air travel will grind towards gridlock again as it did in 1999 and
2000.

“My true wish is that we can implement the Next-Gen technologies and deploy
approaches, procedures and equipment at a faster rate than the traffic can
build,’’ he said. “I’d love to think that delays will decrease in time as
opposed to increase in time as traffic comes back.’’

Realistic? “I think so.’’