Former ALPA President Offered Job Weeks Ago, Sources Say

It appears we're close to learning who the next person to lead the Federal Aviation Administration will be. Citing unidentified industry officials and others close to the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports former pilots union leader Randy Babbitt has been tapped to lead the agency.

Babbitt served as president of the Air Line Pilots Association for much of the 1990s, and most recently served as an industry consultant -- first independently, then as part of the larger firm Oliver Wyman. He was first rumored to be a top candidate for the FAA job last month, as ANN reported.

Reports indicate the Obama administration formally offered Babbitt the job weeks ago, pending a detailed background and financial disclosure vetting process. That timeframe has reportedly been moved up, however... as the lack of a full-time FAA Administrator has looked increasingly conspicuous in the face of a recent series of high-profile aviation accidents.

Acting Administrator Lynne A. Osmus has filled the post since January; before that, Bobby Sturgell was the Bush administration's choice to succeed Marion Blakey, but his confirmation was shot down by the Senate... leaving Sturgell to fill the job in a lame duck capacity until a new presidential administration came to town.

The WSJ indicated an announcement was expected as early as Tuesday evening... but that time came and went with no formal confirmation.

If selected, Babbitt faces the daunting task of finding a compromise agreement between agency interests and labor groups, chief among those being the air traffic controllers union. For months, analysts have believed a former union leader would be tapped for the top job at FAA, specifically for their experience in dealing with labor negotiations... though early speculation had Duane Woerth, also a former ALPA President, as Obama's pick for the job.

Babbitt will also be the agency's pointman on the contentious issue of how to fund the FAA, as well as how to proceed with the agency's oft-touted "NextGen" air traffic control system.

If Babbitt is selected, his confirmation is likely, though not guaranteed. The WSJ notes Babbitt's past status as a registered lobbyist might raise eyebrows on Capitol Hill, particularly in light of Obama's (ill-realized) campaign promise to keep lobbyists out of key government positions.

Babbitt was a registered lobbyist for the Phoenix aviation department from 2003-2007... though he claims he never lobbied on behalf of his clients when it came to legislative matters, and says he only registered as a lobbyist "to be on the safe side."

More recently, Babbitt served on the government commission last year that investigated the FAA's oversight of airline maintenance practices.

FMI: www.faa.gov