Musk's controversial DOGE tapped to overhaul air traffic control system
Source: SFGATE
In the latest aviation news, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency plans to make quick repairs to the nation’s air traffic control system; a New York Times investigation details the depth of the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controller shortage; worldwide air travel hit a record last year; new California routes come from American Airlines, Allegiant, United, Breeze and Southwest; Delta and Taiwan’s Starlux announce new California transpacific routes; United is set to resume service to Israel next month; Delta elaborates on the addition of DraftKings to its in-flight entertainment lineup; Frontier Airlines opens a website for the sale of travel packages; Lufthansa Group moves quickly to integrate Italy’s ITA Airways into its network; the Palm Springs City Council approves a master plan for expanding the city’s airport; and Alaska Airlines reopens its airport lounge at Anchorage.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to Duffy’s post by observing that Musk’s DOGE employees “have no relevant experience. Most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car. And you’re going to let them mess with airline safety that’s already deteriorated on your watch?” Meanwhile, Trump said this week that the FAA’s air traffic control network relies on “an old, broken system” and called for its replacement, according to the Associated Press. “I think what is going to happen is we’re all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new — not pieced together, obsolete,” he said.
It’s been common knowledge for many months, and has even been acknowledged by the FAA, that the nation is facing a serious shortage of air traffic controllers. That concern has come into sharp focus following the recent midair crash in the crowded skies around Washington’s Reagan National Airport, and a new investigation by the New York Times shows just how serious the staffing shortage is — especially in the northeast. Based on staffing data that it got from the air traffic controllers’ union, the Times concluded that at 285 of the nation’s 313 air traffic control locations, including airport towers and other facilities, controller staffing numbers “were below thresholds set by the F.A.A. and the union. At 73 of those facilities, staffing is so low that at least a quarter of the work force is missing.” News reports after the crash over the Potomac said that one DCA air traffic controller was doing the work normally handled by two that night. The Times said the shortage is “particularly severe” in the greater New York area, where two air traffic control facilities on Long Island “are operating with nearly 40% of the positions unfilled.”
Travelers wade through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airport on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Denver.
Travelers wade through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airport on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Denver.
David Zalubowski/AP
Surging demand for air travel wasn’t just a U.S. phenomenon last year — it was happening all around the world. In its year-end statistical roundup, the International Air Transport Association — a trade group of the world’s airlines — said that total worldwide air traffic in 2024 increased 10.4% over the previous year, setting a record that exceeded even the last pre-pandemic year of 2019 by 3.38%. Overall capacity rose by 8.7%, pushing up the average load factor (percentage of total seats occupied) to 83.5%, another record. Looking only at international routes, IATA said, passenger traffic grew by 13.6% last year, and capacity was up 12.8%. “Looking to 2025, there is every indication that demand for travel will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8.0% that is more aligned with historical averages,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
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In California route news, Feb. 13 is the launch date for new twice-daily American Eagle/Envoy Air service between Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport (35 miles north of San Diego) and Phoenix. The flights will operate with Embraer 175 regional jets. On the same date, Allegiant Air is slated to start flying between the Orange County airport in Santa Ana and Colorado Springs, Colorado. On May 22, United is set to begin daily service between Ontario and its hub at Chicago O’Hare, the airport announced. Also on May 22, Breeze Airways plans to resume seasonal summer service between Los Angeles International and Akron-Canton, Ohio, with two flights a week. The Points Guy reports that Southwest Airlines will add a new route between Fresno and San Diego on Oct. 2, with one daily round trip, and will boost its San Diego-Tampa service from one flight a week to five.
Elsewhere, Feb. 13 is the launch date for Southwest Airlines’ new route linking Las Vegas with Washington’s close-in Reagan National Airport, with service four days a week increasing to daily on March 6. (That LAS-DCA flight is set to originate in Sacramento, providing one-stop, same-plane service to the nation’s capital.) Frontier Airlines said it will introduce new service May 1 between Las Vegas and Washington Dulles, bringing some competition to a route where United currently has a monopoly with three flights a day. On Feb. 13, Delta is scheduled to start flying once a day between its Salt Lake City hub and Northwest Arkansas Airport in Fayetteville, close to Walmart’s headquarters, with an Embraer 175 operated by Skywest. In the northeast, One Mile at a Time reports that JetBlue plans to abandon one of the nation’s busiest business travel routes on April 30: New York LaGuardia to Boston Logan. The absence of JetBlue’s six daily flights will leave the market to Delta’s shuttle schedule of up to 15 flights a day and American’s four daily round trips.
Starlux Airlines lands at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam.
Starlux Airlines lands at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam.
Quang Ho/Getty Images
On the international side, Delta plans to add a new route to Australia on Dec. 3, when it begins service three days a week from Los Angeles International to Melbourne with an Airbus A350-900. It would be Delta’s third Australian destination from LAX, along with Sydney and Brisbane. The LAX-Melbourne route is also served by United and Qantas. Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines, which already flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, plans to add Ontario, California, as its next U.S. gateway starting June 2, according to Aeroroutes. The carrier plans to operate four A350-900 flights a week from Ontario to Taipei, a route that is also served by China Airlines.
Following Delta’s recent announcement that it will resume service to Israel on April 1 with daily flights to Tel Aviv from New York JFK, United Airlines said it will do the same next month. United is set to begin daily JFK-Tel Aviv flights on March 15, increasing to twice daily on March 29. In transborder news, Feb. 13 is the starting date for new Alaska Airlines service from LAX to Monterrey, Mexico, operating daily flights with an E175 regional jet. The latest adjustments to American Airlines’ summer international schedules include a new seasonal route from Charlotte to Athens June 5-Sept. 1 and new service from Chicago O’Hare to Madrid and to Naples starting March 30 and May 6, respectively. Meanwhile, American has pulled Chicago-Venice flights from its summer schedule but plans to add daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Venice service as of June 5, as well as daily service to Venice from Philadelphia starting March 29.
At CES in Las Vegas last month, Delta executives outlined enhancements coming to the airline’s in-flight entertainment system, including a new partnership with the DraftKings online gaming operation, but they provided no details. That spurred some online speculation that the airline might have its eye on testing in-flight gambling, although some observers noted that would be illegal under existing regulations. This week, Delta shed some more light on its plans with DraftKings, which it said would be coming soon to its Delta Sync Wi-Fi. “The potential collaboration contemplates that eligible SkyMiles Members can access free gaming as an additional offering on Delta Sync Wi-Fi available through SkyMiles Members’ personal electronic devices,” Delta said in a news release. “The Delta Sync experience does not include gaming of any kind using real money or miles.” Delta said it will also soon let customers access YouTube content ad-free on most flights with Delta Sync Wi-Fi and Delta Sync seatback screens.
Frontier Airlines has launched a “packaged travel offering” that will allow customers to book flights, hotels and ground transportation through a single website. The site, which is powered by Priceline, will provide exclusive offers for members of the airline’s Frontier Miles loyalty program, the company said.
Now that the Lufthansa Group’s acquisition of a 41% stake in Italy’s ITA Airways has been finalized, Lufthansa is quickly moving to integrate the carrier into its network. Effective immediately, Lufthansa said, members of its Miles & More loyalty program can earn and spend miles on all ITA flights, and ITA’s Volare members can do the same on flights operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. Starting March 30, eligible passengers on Lufthansa Group carriers and on ITA will have reciprocal access to the airlines’ airport lounges. On the same date, ITA flight operations in Germany are slated to move into Lufthansa’s Terminal 1 in Frankfurt Airport and Terminal 2 in Munich, and the two companies will begin to introduce code-sharing on scores of routes connecting their systems. With the integration, Rome Fiumicino Airport becomes the Lufthansa Group’s sixth and southernmost hub. In the months ahead, ITA will withdraw from the Delta/Air France/KLM SkyTeam global alliance and will join the United/Lufthansa Star Alliance, probably in the first half of 2026.
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Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/musk-doge-tapped-overhaul-air-traffic-control-20149118.php
This doesn't make me feel any safer!
= new reply since forum marked as read
I hear you!.
"But look at golf balls. I never see a ball hit another ball? Balls going up all over the place. You never see 'em hit. It was amazing that that could happen."
"So I'll get Elon to fix the FAA! Why, he's in charge of DOGE, SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink!"
"Uh, Elon, is that another one of your contraptions falling out of the sky?"
During an unscheduled disassembly, SpaceX Starship Flight 7 polluted the atmosphere while endangering citizens below.
