Mike, I believe that the types of power are also driven by the relationship between the 2 parties. In aviation, although you wouldn’t know it, airlines and other airspace users are the customers and FAA is the supplier of safety and separation services. Unfortunately, this is not the dynamic that developed over the last 70 years In 1958, when the FAA was formed and Positive Control airspace was implemented, FAA was the only one with the data and tools to manage aircraft separation, and, therefore, took “control” of the movement of all IFR aircraft. There really was no other option back then. In fact, the work of Special Working Group 13 in designing the first Positive Control Airspace was a cornerstone of modern aviation safety, transitioning the US national airspace from a "see and avoid" system to a controlled, radar-monitored system for high-speed traffic. This worked great for decades, and increased safety, but at the cost of efficiency, since there is no way a government agency like FAA can determine “efficiency” for their aviation customers. But in the mid-1990s airlines also had access to the same data that ATC had (ASDI, now SWIM) so airlines knew where every aircraft was in the airspace, including position, altitude, speed, etc. This allowed airlines the ability to see and manage their aircraft in real time, especially now with GPS and ADS-B/C. Yet even though airlines/users now have the ability to optimize and manage the movement of their aircraft, they are not using this capability and still unnecessarily abdicate to ATC for control over the movement of their aircraft. Getting back to the beginning of my post, airlines/users need to realize that they are the customers and should have a big say in the design of any new airspace and separation process, but they don’t. Airlines/users dutifully sign up for whatever FAA/ATC says is better as seen in FAA’s Brand New ATC System (BNATCS) and FAA Administrator, Bryan Bedford’s statement that “We’ll tell you where we want you to be in three dimensions…and we’ll tell you where we want you to be to hit that top of descent mark to [meet] the constraints of the runway”. ( <https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2026-01-22/faas-bedford-provides-view-future-atc> Washington Aero Club, Jan 22, 2026). Of course, separation/safety belongs to ATC, but, as I saw and utilized in my over 40 years as a pilot (USAF, commercial and business jets) this leaves lots of “day of” operational flexibility (gate departure time, speed, altitude, flight path, etc.) for airlines to step in (and step up) to manage the movement of their aircraft to meet their safety and “day of” business goals (schedule, connections, gate availability, crew legality, fuel, maintenance, galleys, lavs, etc.). Michael xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx R. Michael Baiada cell - (303) 521-6047 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] From: Mike Borfitz via Mifnet <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2026 20:14 To: Mike Borfitz <[email protected]> Cc: Mike Borfitz <[email protected]> Subject: [Mifnet 🛰 75683] What Power Do We Have In Our FAA Relationships? Hi all, Been a bit since my last posting, this one had to sorta write itself. I started with one goal in mind but the article took me to a slightly different finish and that's OK. I posted it on LinkedIn last Friday but it needed more editing & a second version has now replaced it. The result follows. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LinkedIn Title: A Story About The FAA, Relationships And A Few Hard Truths LinkedIn Introduction: Generally there are two “types” of power in our business, and they are found at opposite ends of the relationship spectrum. They can often be in conflict, but all relationships have a bit of both. To restate, these two types of power are not simple black & white, binary A or B options because elements of both are typically found in any FAA relationship. First is the lever of politics & money, which is held by mega-corporations with beltway lobbyists & significant balance of trade muscle that can drive changes in the national economy. The second type of power is found in the law: It’s in the regulatory structure, including certification, licensing and delegation. Quite simply, the FAA owns every bit of that power. But that’s not the true second type of power. There's another, stealthy and high-leverage type of power; it's the power of performance & integrity, driven by knowledge, openness and a full recognition and fearless acceptance of that lawful FAA power. A smaller design approval holder [This includes Parts Manufacturer Authorization (PMA) and Technical Standard Orders (ODA) manufacturers] won’t have the enormous political clout the giants enjoy, but honest disclosure, competence and knowledge have great leverage to build and maintain a trusting relationship, and there is nothing better than that in our world. When your FAA relationship is strong and based on these principals you can be on equal footing with your FAA oversight office. Never, ever argue AT the FAA, but when the relationship is strong and you can understand and accept their final decisions, you can argue WITH the FAA almost as a peer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As usual, please feel free to share, and your comments will be welcomed. Mike Borfitz, Chief Executive Kilroy Aviation <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] Mobile Call or Text: (206) 714-8797 <http://www.faaoda.com/> www.FAAODA.com Kilroy Aviation <http://www.kilroy.faaoda.com> <https://i.postimg.cc/yYFymfWM/KIH452.png>
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