United CEO Says ‘Private Jets’ Lobby Hampering ATC Modernization

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is raising some eyebrows over comments he made about “private jets” being the biggest impediment to airspace modernization. In a candid and animated interview on the Cheeky Pint podcast Kirby said he thinks a privatized ATC system would solve congestion problems but it’s politically impossible thanks to business aviation’s lobbying clout in Washington. “It’s super politically controversial to privatize the FAA and air traffic control but it’s the kind of thing that private enterprise I think could get done in two to three years,” he said. “The real issue is there’s several political groups that are opposed to it, the biggest being private jets.”

Kirby said airlines pay 100 percent of the cost of air traffic control. “Essentially it’s free to fly private jets and they’re a really powerful lobby and I think that’s probably the biggest impediment to modernizing the FAA.” Kirby said the current administration understands the issues and wants to modernize ATC as soon as possible but they’re constrained by the appropriations process. “It’s the government,” he said adding that he isn’t advocating ATC privatization because it’s so politically charged. The result of ATC bottlenecks is that airports are reaching capacity because of ATC constraints and that will cap the number of flights throughout the system. The podcast is below and the part about private jets begins at 22 minutes in.

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