Harvard Prof Promotes ATC Privatization To Squeeze Out GA

A Harvard University economics professor says the U.S. should adopt Canada's model for air traffic management to ensure private aviation pays its fair share and prioritizes airline traffic over general aviation. Jeffrey Frankel's op-ed was published in the Toronto Globe and Mail two days before Airlines For America wrote government agencies complaining that general aviation caused airline flight delays over the holidays. Frankel takes a slightly different approach by saying the private not-for-profit contract model used by Canada will reduce the number of private aircraft by substantially raising their cost of access to the system.

"The ATC system must have incentives to prioritize commercial airlines, which are more attuned to passengers’ needs, over the interests of the private-jet lobby," Frankel, who is also a research associate at the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, wrote. "Privatizing the ATC system would make it accountable to the public and would compel private-jet owners to pay their fair share. This would result in fewer takeoffs and landings, thereby reducing airport congestion."

Nav Canada, the private company that runs the air traffic system there, charges airlines and business jet operators fees for air traffic services based on the weight of the aircraft and distance flown while under its control. According to Nav Canada's online calculator, the operator of a Cessna Mustang light jet would pay about $100 USD in fees for a 400-mile flight from Vancouver to Calgary. Operators of most light GA aircraft (less than 4,409 pounds) pay an annual flat fee of $82.46 to cover all the ATC services they use in the year.

Frankel alleges that U.S. business jet operators are getting a free ride on the backs of airline passengers. "As it stands, the system heavily subsidizes small private jets at the expense of harried commercial passengers, who are forced to pay substantial taxes and fees," he wrote. "Despite representing about one-sixth of the flights managed by the FAA, private jets contribute only two percent of the agency’s tax revenue." He did not cite a source for those figures.

Frankel also says the controller shortage is a major factor in flight delays, but Nav Canada is also facing staff shortages and frequently closes airspace to VFR traffic around major centers to make way for airliners.