Letter Groups Laud Choice
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 03.27.09 1900
EDT: It's official. Friday afternoon, President Barack
Obama named Randolph "Randy" Babbitt to be the next FAA
administrator, subject to confirmation by the US Senate.
Babbitt was
first named as a top candidate for the job
last month.
As ANN reported Wednesday, reports indicated
the Obama administration formally offered Babbitt the job weeks
ago, pending a detailed background and financial disclosure vetting
process. That timeframe was moved up, however... as the lack of a
full-time FAA Administrator has looked increasingly conspicuous in
the face of a recent series of high-profile aviation accidents.
Acting Administrator Lynne A. Osmus has filled the post since
January; before that, Bobby Sturgell was the Bush administration's
choice to succeed Marion Blakey, but his confirmation was shot down
by the Senate... leaving Sturgell to fill the job in a lame duck
capacity until a new presidential administration came to town.
Babbitt served as president of the Air Line Pilots Association
for much of the 1990s, and most recently served as an industry
consultant -- first independently, then as part of the larger firm
Oliver Wyman.
If confirmed, Babbitt faces the daunting task of finding a
compromise agreement between agency interests and labor groups,
chief among those being the air traffic controllers union. He will
also be the agency's pointman on the contentious issue of how to
fund the FAA, as well as how to proceed with the agency's
oft-touted "NextGen" air traffic control system.
Two of the largest aviation "letter groups" lauded Babbitt's
selection Friday.
"Randy is an excellent choice for FAA administrator," said
National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen. "He's a
pilot, with a thorough understanding of how our nation's aviation
system works. He also has a businessperson's expertise, having
started a successful aviation consulting company. He brought his
business skills to his service on the FAA's Management Advisory
Council, which was focused on applying good business practices at
the FAA... Clearly, Randy will be able to hit the ground running at
a critical point in the evolution of the nation's air
transportation system."
"AOPA welcomes the announcement of Randy Babbitt as President
Obama's choice to head the Federal Aviation Administration," added
Craig Fuller, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association. "In a letter to the then-incoming President and in
meetings with the transition team, AOPA said the new FAA
Administrator needed to have technical and people-management
skills, combined with an understanding of the aviation industry and
the political acumen necessary to lead the organization as it faces
multiple challenges, including the twin challenges of determining
an efficient long-term funding strategy and transitioning to the
NextGen satellite-based navigation system."
Babbitt's confirmation appears likely, though not guaranteed.
The Wall Street Journal noted this week Babbitt's past status as a
registered lobbyist might raise eyebrows on Capitol Hill,
particularly in light of Obama's (ill-realized) campaign promise to
keep lobbyists out of key government positions. Babbitt was a
registered lobbyist for the Phoenix aviation department from
2003-2007... though he claims he never lobbied on behalf of his
clients when it came to legislative matters, and says he only
registered as a lobbyist "to be on the safe side."
More recently, Babbitt served on the government commission last
year that investigated the FAA's oversight of airline maintenance
practices, a position where he won praise and notice from a number
of Washington insiders.