Had Been Only Carrier To Stand Against The Idea Last Year

Up until last week, Delta Airlines had been the only legacy carrier to openly oppose the idea of privatizing Air Traffic Control as is proposed in the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill set for debate in Congress this summer.

But all that changed last Thursday, when CEO Ed Bastian said during an earnings call with analysts that Delta is now "working constructively" with Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), who has pressed for two years to spin off ATC from the FAA.

USA Today reports that Bastian said Delta is "at the table. We're not philosophically opposed to privatization for privatization's sake."

Delta had released a position paper last year outlining how, in its view, the scheme would raise fares and taxes on passengers and put smaller airports in jeopardy of losing funding. But that now seems to have changed.

ATC privatization has the backing of many Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Shuster. Some leading general aviation (GA) advocates have also reportedly come around, including Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO). Graves said that Rep. Shuster has addressed his concerns about how GA is treated under the plan, and now says the federal government should not be managing the system.

In testimony Thursday before the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said "Despite spending billions of taxpayer dollars over decades, the government has not been able to fully implement state-of-the-art air traffic control technology. Without change, the current air traffic control system will not be able to keep up."

The House Appropriations Committee, however, voted to keep ATC under the FAA umbrella.

Delta's Bastian said that the airline now sees the move as a way to modernize the system in the best way possible, and said that the carrier is "in full support of the President's agenda to invest and modernize the system.

FMI: www.delta.com