November 20, 2009
US aviation in shambles
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the country's aviation system is "in shambles". This after a circuit board failure caused delays and cancelled flights all over America. "If we don't deliver the resources, manpower, and technology the FAA it needs to upgrade the system, these technical glitches that cause cascading delays and chaos across the country are going to become a very regular occurrence."
No doubt that something needs to be done. A while back I mentioned one plan the FAA had to stop taxing airline tickets and instead tax fuel and impose fees on commercial and private jets. I'm not an expert bu that sounded good to me as I asked Why should my economy class ticket help pay for the air traffic control helping some rich person's private jet take off?
And one way or the other we do need to fund an FAA overhaul because the air traffic control system does need work.
Posted by James Trotta at November 20, 2009 10:41 PM
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I won't risk stirring up a political hornet's nest on a travel blog, other than to say that an overhaul of the FAA is important. However, there is no money to pay for such things, as our country is falling deeper and deeper in debt. One viable solution, as you suggest, is to add fees or increase costs for private aircraft. I see nothing unreasonable about a 50% or more luxury tax imposed on the owners of such modes of transportation. They can well afford to pay for the privilege, or stay at home.
Posted by: Sharon at November 22, 2009 5:49 AM