FAA Numbers Too Optimistic?…
The FAA is not the only outfit around to announce its vision of the aviation future, and this week The Boyd Group, of Evergreen, Colo., held its annual forecast conference, in Nashville, Tenn., and on several points offered views that differ from the FAA’s ideas. For starters, aviation consultant Michael Boyd predicted far less passenger growth than the FAA, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The FAA said in March that passengers will return to 2000 levels by 2006, but Boyd forecast it will take until 2008. Boyd also predicted sharp growth in secondary airports near major cities, the Times said, saying passenger traffic at Long Beach, Calif., will increase five times over 2000 levels by 2008.
