RE: "airlines/users/pilots *should* be saying ..." But they're not. They have not. They are not. When will they, Michael? Today? Next week? 2028? Ever?
As Ted Knight's character in *Caddyshack*, Judge Smails, famously said: "Well? ... We're waiting." How long, Michael, are you prepared to wait for your desired plan to come together with all the airlines and users coming forward to take control of the ATC system as you've outlined so many times? Meanwhile ... the current outdated system and airspace that is neither efficient, nor optimized, continues to languish and stagnate and cause the delay problems that you are rightly speaking out against. How about we STOP waiting for the system to improve? How about we act NOW? No more waiting. What a concept. What I see is a POTUS, DOT Secretary, and FAA Administrator taking the lead and actually DOING something ... FINALLY ... to lead and act to modernize the ATC system. They have support from Congress and every corner of the aviation community. The Modern Skies Coalition is evidence of this. Check out the list of entities that are part of the coalition all calling for modernization. Rapid, comprehensive modernization. NOW. https://modernskies.com/who-we-are/ As always, I respect you, Michael, tremendously, for the excellent career you have had as a pilot (in my favorite aircraft, the 747) and aviation expert. I continue to ask you to keep an open mind on the only current, viable path forward for true NAS modernization that currently exists and which actually has momentum instead of waiting for the airlines to do what you keep asking them and urging them to do. -Doug Church On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 9:51 PM ATHGroup--- via Mifnet < [email protected]> wrote: > > > FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford’s comments on May 21, 2026, and January > 22, 2026, highlighted a concerning trend in air traffic management. > > > > On January 22nd Mr. Bedford stated > <https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2026-01-22/faas-bedford-provides-view-future-atc>, > “*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*”. > > > > FAA's "*ATC must be in control*" mantra is also reflected in Bedford's > recent proclamation in Karen Walker’s May 21, 2026, Aviation Week article > <https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/faa-chief-airlines-must-reset-schedules-support-atm>, > where FAA is ordering airlines to reset their schedules to accommodate ATM > modernization. > > > > However, FAA’s narrative is backwards and must be reversed. Instead of “*FAA > Chief Orders Airlines to Reset Schedules for ATM Modernization*” > airlines/users/pilots should be saying “*Airlines/Users directs FAA Chief > to reset ATM modernization to accommodate airline/user schedules, while ATC > ensures safe separation throughout the airspace*”. While requiring > airlines/users to step up, this independently validated airline/user > centric solution is a much easier, more profitable, less expensive and > safer path forward. > > > > Therefore, it is crucial for aviation to rapidly move to a joint > airline/user/pilot/controller/ATC solution that dynamically incorporates > the “*day of*” business needs of each of the airline’s/user’s aircraft > (which will change daily, and sometimes hourly) where airlines/users and > pilots manage aircraft flows and ATC provides separation, which greatly > simplifies the solution. > > > > With 50 years of experience in airline operations and ATC, I believe this > “*shovel > ready*” solution, while not the mainstream, is the only viable way to a > future airline industry that profitably puts the passenger where promised, > when promised. > > > > Conversely, trying to build a future aviation system based on the decades > old “*ATC only*” control processes using updated Ground Delay Program or > Cooperative Decision Making tools, which forces controllers to increase > their workload (separate plus manage the aircraft speed) and ignores > airline and pilot capabilities will not succeed. > > > > Finally, regarding the FAA’s Brand New ATC System (BNATCS) and its > Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories tool (SMART), > consider the following: > > > > 1. FAA’s role, as outlined in the Federal Aviation Regulations and the > Air Traffic Controller Handbook (7110.65BB), is to provide separation and > safety, not to manage aircraft. As stated, “*SMART is not aimed at > separating aircraft or doing any of those kind of safety-critical > functions*”, > which is exactly ATC's job. > 2. SMART appears to be a digitized version of the 1980s Ground Delay > Program (GDP), which has proven ineffective and does not account for the > variance created after the aircraft departs the gate (+/- 20 minutes). > 3. The data required for SMART to efficiently “*predict air traffic > flows and adjust departure times to resolve conflicts*” days in > advance will not be close to accurate enough for many years into the > future. Besides, why would anyone want the government to do this? > 4. SMART fails to dynamically incorporate the airline’s tactical, “*day > of*” business needs (schedule, connections, gate availability, crew > legality, fuel on board, airport capacity, ramp, maintenance, galleys, > lavs, etc.) or the pilot’s ability to manage enroute speed and arrival > time. > 5. BNATCS is built on the outdated belief that airport/airspace > capacity is the problem. It is not > > <https://greenlandings.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AGIFORS-Random-Point-Overloads-White-Paper-2026-04-14.pdf> > . > 6. *FAA wants to spend $10s of billions controlling aircraft flows > when airlines can safely manage their own aircraft flows for $10s of > millions.* > > > > Michael > > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > R. Michael Baiada > > cell - (303) 521-6047 > > [email protected] > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Revised: 20250507 > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > exactly cost-free. 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-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revised: 20250507 You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't exactly cost-free. If you'd care to make a small contribution to the effort, please know that it would be greatly appreciated: https://wardell.us/url/mifbit All posts sent to the list should abide by these policies: 1) List members acknowledge that participation in Mifnet is a privilege--not a right. 2) Posts are always off the record, absent specific permission from the author. 3) The tone of discussions is collegial. 4) Posts are expected to be in reasonably good taste. 5) We discuss ideas and not personalities, and we don't speak ill of other Mifnet members. * The Mifnet WEB SITE is: https://www.mifnet.com/ * To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list at any time please visit: https://lists.mifnet.com/ OR: SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: [email protected]?subject=leave * Send Mifnet mailing list POSTS/SUBMISSIONS to: [email protected] * You may reach the person managing The Mifnet at: [email protected] * Please consider the DIGEST version of The Mifnet, which consolidates all list traffic into 1-3 messages daily. See instructions at: https://lists.mifnet.com/ * Manage your personal Mifnet SUBSCRIPTION at: https://lists.mifnet.com/ * For a list of all available Mifnet commands, SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: [email protected]?subject=help * View The Mifnet LIST POLICIES and PRIVACY POLICY at: https://mifnet.com/index.php/policies * View instructions for Mifnet DELIVERY PROBLEMS at: https://mifnet.com/index.php/delivery-problems * View The Mifnet LIST ARCHIVE at: https://lists.mifnet.com/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/
