Todays Aviation & Travel Problems - A Repeat of 1967

In my rummaging around trying to find something to ease the pain of airline passenger delays across the U.S., I came across a very interesting article in the September 24, 1967 Los Angeles Times, titled: The Sky No Longer A Limit In Our Crowded Airways - written by Rudy Abramson and Ronald J. Ostrow (both members of the Times Washington Bureau). Well, "bust my buttons", that article could have been published today, and no one would know the difference in time.
The article (good reading) set up the late afternoon jet departures from John Kennedy airport (NY) followed by similar departures in Newark, Philadelphia, and Chicago, waiting in line for takeoff, followed by descriptions of layer upon layer of flights in holding patterns at various altitudes, working their way down to the bottom of the stack to get in to their airports, at the same time. (Frustrating, Yes!) If that were not enough, incoming flights further out were instructed by FAA Controllers to reduce their airspeed (to delay their arrival at these airports) until the traffic jams were cleared. The article indicated that the mixture of jet passenger carriers with GA airplanes together in the same airspace compromized air safety and that mid-air collisions were more numerous than those reported. The article also cited the average number of takeoffs and landings at Chicago O'Hare airport numbered 44 every second around the clock, which added up to more than 60,000 per month, and that most of these instances were packed into a few hours. (And don't we have the same situation today?).
The article continues with air travel estimates of 7-8% given for 1967, which turned out to be 17% and cites a 16% increase for the previous year. The estimated increase of airplanes in the sky from 1966 to 1976 was 104,000 to 180,000 (that's 4,000 per year). The increase in air travel today for similar periods were passenger traffic increasing 2.7%/month and 32.4%/year.
This would indicate, at such rates, that over the next 10-20 years air travel will more than double.
This phenominal growth, the writers said, was attributed to people with money to spend, the untimely demise of railroad travel, and the inadeqacy of auto travel for long distances; whereas the problems involved were absurd levels of competition resulting in jamming more and more flights into peak hours of traffic, and the timidity of Government to tackle the problems. A White House study of airport problems was mentioned, however this study was never made public. The writers believed that this study recommended a federal corporation which would guarantee loans for airport construction and improvement. (Sound familiar? We did have the Civil Aeronautics Board at that time - 1940 to 1984 - but money for airports? And we have to remember that Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978).
The article concludes by saying that American living has been tuned to the spread of the jet (I'd say more fine-tuned to the efficiencies of the jet). The article also stated that the Aviation Industry and the FAA recognized that the biggest growth in air travel was still ahead.
And they were so ri ght - but very little has been accomplished to accommodate that growth since 1967. We need to get "going" - we need a starter. The sky is no longer a limit in our crowded airways. That's true, and we have most of the same problems today as we did in 1967 - and maybe some additional ones, too.
May I say again, let's get started with a National, not bureaucratic, study and oversite of our aviation and air travel problems - and a plan for the near and distant future. Thanks for listening. RS.

Did You Know - Random Facts

Did you know that:

AOPA (Aircraft Owners Pilot Association) now has 412,000 members.



GA (General Aviation) makes up less than 4% of FAA's Tower Operations - but is expected to increase in the future.



International passenger flights are taking a bigger slice of the flying pie each year, by fuel consumption accounts, gradually increasing from 10% of the total in 1977 to 30% in 2006. Domestic passenger flights dropped from 90% to 74% for the same time periods, while the total of International and Domestic flying increased by 53%. By all accounts, these figures will only increase year by year in the future.

In a more recent accounting by the Department of Transportation (DOT) research, U.S. Airlines carried 64.9 million scheduled Domestic and International passengers in April 2007, 2.7% more than in April 2006 - 7.5 million of those were schedled International passengers, a 2% increase.

During the first 4 months of 2007 the Domestic and International flights of the major carriers enjoyed average load factors exceeding 77.8%.

The DOT also reported that American Airlines carried more total system passengers in the first 4 months of 2007 than any other airline, while SouthWest Airlines carried more Domestic passengers. American Airlines also carried more International passengers.

Closer to home, the Domestic revenue passenger miles market share from May 2006 to April 2007 was: American 15.3%, United 12.1%, Southwest 11.9%, Delta 11.1%, Continental 7.7%, Northwest 7.0%, U.S. Airways 4.7%, Jet Blue 4.0%, America West 3.8%, Alaska Airline 2.6%, and Other 19.8%.

The top Domestic Routes for the same period were: (passengers in millions) New York to Chicago 3.24, Los Angeles to Chicago 2.78, Washington D.C. to Chicago 2.69, Ft. Lauderdale to New York 2.65, Atlanta to New York 2.63, Atlanta to Orlando 2.62, Denver to Chicago 2.53, Atlanta to Washington D.C. 2.51, Las Vegas to Chicago 2.4, and Dallas/Ft. Worth to Chicago 2.36. (Chicago appears to be the central Hub, - no doubt, but probably with more delays).

The top airports - More total System and Domestic passengers boarded flights in the first 4 months of 2007 at the Atlanta - Hartsfield Johnson International airport, while more International passengers boarded flights at Miami International. (I'm sure that the Air Traffic Controllers are mindful of these increases since they report that there are too few of them to handle it all).



And, hey, did you know that Live Rock 105 radio is owned by CBS and (for Robin and Leta) have pretty good music, too. I wonder if those "rock-jocks" can come up with a "flying dreamliner" song. RS.