Knee-Deep In the Hoopla

On Tuesday, 24 October 2023, the U.S. Senate, by way of a 98-0 vote, confirmed Michael Whitaker as the Federal Aviation Administration’s new permanent Administrator. 

Whitaker’s confirmation affords the FAA its first stable leadership since Stephen Dickson vacated the Administrator’s office in March 2022. The period encompassing 01 April 2022 through 24 October 2023 saw the FAA headed by Acting Administrators Billy Nolen and Polly Trottenberg, whose tenures spanned 01 April 2022 to 09 June 2023, and 09 June to 24 October 2023 respectively.

Adding its powerful voice to the chorus of Hosanna’s gone up from airline and aviation industry groups the likes of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)—in the person of Association CEO and chairman of the board Jack J. Pelton—set forth: “We very much appreciate the Senate’s swift action to confirm Michael Whitaker as FAA Administrator, as it brings long-term stability and leadership to the agency. With the administrator’s confirmation complete, Congress can now turn its attention to the urgent matters of FAA authorization and appropriations to provide further stability for the entire spectrum of aviation in our country.”

During confirmation hearing testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee, Whitaker indicated that if confirmed, he would immediately focus on three ambitious objectives: bettering aviation safety; improving aviation infrastructure, and the patently platitudinous “making the FAA an employer of choice, where aviators want to build their careers.”

Whitaker initially joined the FAA in 2013 as the agency’s deputy administrator and chief NextGen officer, a capacity in which he was responsible for modernizing the United States’ air traffic control system—a task in which he demonstrably failed.

Immediately prior to his confirmation, Whitaker was in the employ of Hyundai subsidiary and eVTOL-maker Supernal. The nature of Whitaker’s connection to Supernal hereafter remains unknown.

Prior to his brief 2013-2016 stretch with the FAA, Whitaker functioned as a lawyer for both TWA and United airlines. He served, also, as group CEO of InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of India’s IndiGo airline.

Asked during a 2023 radio interview why the FAA continues to make use of antiquated technologies, Whitaker set forth: “It is a complicated question. They [the FAA] definitely need new investment. They need new technology. They're subject to a funding model that's pretty inconsistent. Congress passes authorizations. They pass budgets. Those are inconsistent. They're not predictable. They're short-term. And then you have things like government shutdowns that interfere with the process. So you need investment. You don't have a stable source of funding. And you need investment not just to keep the current system running, but to accommodate new technologies, like flying air taxis.”

FMI: www.faa.gov