Airport privatization becomes popular

Editorial Focus: Privatizing government-operated airports brings greater efficiency in meeting the world's fast-growing transportation needs. It might be the "final answer" for Palmdale.

That same year, four railway lines were nationalized and were taken under the administration of the British Transport Commission.

British Airways was formed in 1972 by combining the two staterun airlines.

The British Broadcasting Corp. is operated by the government.

In general, Great Britain was for decades known as a socialized society.

But, would it surprise you to know that London's two large airports - Heathrow and Gatwick - have been privately owned and operated for more than a decade.

Here in the United States, where commercial aviation was born and expanded into a behemoth industry, most of the nation's airports are operated by governments - the so-called public sector.

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Nov. 15, makes the case that privatizing more of America's airports might help alleviate the horrible pain of passengers lining up at overcrowded government-operated fields which are always behind the curve in handling growth.

During the past 20 years, airline passenger traffic has doubled. Delays on domestic flights in September in the United States were up 63% from a year earlier.

In New York City, where Kennedy and LaGuardia airports consistently rank near the bottom of traveler evaluations, Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, "We're losing business and we're losing prestige because of the Port Authority's management."

Giuliani has issued a Request for Proposals from private operators who might want to manage, operate and develop the two New York City airports.

The Journal editorial said:

"Passengers traveling through other U.S. airports have already felt the benefits of private management. In Indianapolis, the airport's private management is getting rave reviews, and elsewhere in New York state, Newburgh's Stewart Airport is being privatized.

... Meanwhile, House and Senate negotiators play the same old paradigm, haggling over a $50 billion appropriation for new air traffic control technology and the construction of new facilities. Can anybody spell `private sector'?"

It's reported that by turning over air traffic control to a nonprofit, private corporation, Germany has reduced air traffic delays 25%.

Robert Crandall, former chairman of American Airlines, said that a private company has the "built-in incentive to spend the capital necessary to stay ahead of the technological curve."

Viggo Butler, the former president of Lockheed Air Terminal, points out that "every other part of the traveling experience is private. The travel agent, the taxi, the airline, the rental car and the hotel are all private. Why should airports be the one element in the equation that isn't?"

Now, after Antelope Valley residents have waited 31 years for something concrete to happen at Palmdale Airport, there seems to be an accelerating momentum to develop and market the local facility. Los Angeles World Airports, a public entity, has been ordered by the L.A. City Council to deliver the first study by next spring.

Fifth District Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is working to get the county to hire a consultant with expertise in planning and developing regional airports to expedite development in Palmdale.

But, after more than three decades of governmental inaction, we wonder if Lockheed Air Terminal or some other private fixed base operator had taken over Palmdale Airport in the early 1970s, we might now be flying thousands of passengers out of and into Palmdale.

If government developing and marketing is further delayed, we might take a hard look at privatization of the Palmdale Airport in the early years of the new century.

Fish gotta swim ... Americans gotta fly, so we must do a far better job of meeting the needs of travelers.