Terminal Chaos

In total passenger miles, air travel has never been more popular. But as any frequent flyer knows, air travel problems are growing even faster - long lines, lost luggage, overbooking, flight delays, and serious safety issues. And instead of doing something about it, the traveling public seems simply to be sitting down, buckling in, and allowing itself to be treated like sheep.But it doesn't have to be this way. There are solutions to our air travel problems, real solutions that can make real differences. And they don't require 15 years to implement.With decades of experience in civil aviation and policy, Drs. George Donohue and Russell Shaver are well qualified to assess the problems in the system and offer responsible, workable solutions. Dr. Donohue, the current Director of the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research and a Professor of Systems Engineering at George Mason University (GMU), has extensive high-level experience at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dr.Shaver, formerly a senior RAND Corporation research analyst and now a visiting research fellow at GMU, served as chief scientist for policy analysis at the MITRE Center for Advanced Aviation System Development.The stories they tell are compelling. There are high-profile horror stories - passengers stranded for hours on the tarmac, flights cancelled for 'bad weather' when there's not a drop of rain anywhere near the flight path - as well as an overall sense of apathy and obstructionism among those responsible for managing the industry. Interestingly, these problems are not the inevitable result of the size or complexity of the U.S. system. Air transportation in Europe, with almost identical air traffic control systems and safety standards, is far better.Amsterdam moves 30 per cent more passengers than Newark, but the average flight delay is an order of magnitude lower. In addition, a European Passenger's Bill of Rights - giving distressed passengers the right to substantial and immediate compensation - has been a powerful incentive for non-U.S. airlines to maintain their schedules.So just how did we get where we are in the U.S. system today?Donohue and Shaver cite multiple reasons that have combined to create the chaos we now face. These causes include airline deregulation, multiple governmental agencies with no central oversight or responsibility, multiple...