Babbitt Answers Questions At Tampa Aviation Event

ANN had the chance to put a number of questions to the FAA's unusually responsive Administrator, Randy Babbitt. The questions ran the gamut of what might be done to further the cause of aviation to one of our pet projects from a number of years ago... namely, the institution of a Pilot's Bill of Rights. Babbitt took on all questions, ducked nothing and seemed to relish the opportunity to talk real-live aviation with real-live aviators.

Randy Babbitt was sworn in as the FAA’s sixteenth administrator on June 1, 2009. Babbitt comes to the FAA from Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm where he served as partner.

A veteran pilot and internationally recognized expert in aviation and labor relations, Babbitt is no stranger to the FAA. He has been a member of the agency’s Management Advisory Council since 2001. In that capacity, he provided guidance to the FAA Administrator on a variety of topics, ranging from air traffic modernization to regulatory policy. He was chairman of the council from 2004-06.

Babbitt began his aviation career as a pilot, flying 25 years for Eastern Airlines. A skilled negotiator, he served as President and CEO for US ALPA, the world’s largest professional organization of airline pilots. While at ALPA, he championed the “One Level of Safety” initiative implemented in 1995 to improve safety standards across the industry.

He also promoted the international expansion of ALPA through a merger with the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association in 1997.

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