Previously this column has addressed efforts within the federal government to transform our nation’s air transportation system. Policy leaders believe that the business model of traditional airlines has reached its limit and simply is incapable of meeting the need for efficient travel. In the words of several researchers at NASA and the FAA, the hub-and-spoke system is not scalable, which means that adding bigger aircraft to bigger hub airports does not solve the problems of delays. What
is needed, they argue, is transformation. To accommodate our nation’s increasing demand for mobility, we must change the way air transportation operates.
While government policymakers have yet to say so, a transformed air transportation system will encompass many of the features and benefits currently available to users of business aviation. What will change is the availability of travel options to a much larger segment of the nation’s population.
More In ATC
