Secretary Ray LaHood
Future of U.S. Aviation Advisory Committee
Kickoff Meeting
Tuesday, May 25, 2010

 

Welcome, everyone, to the very first meeting of our new advisory committee to chart the future of aviation policy in the United States.

I have high hopes, and high expectations, for what this committee of diverse experts can accomplish on behalf of the aviation industry, its workforce, and consumers.

This all got started, you know, because of a suggestion from Pat Friend, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants.
Thank you, Pat.  But be careful what you wish for.  You’re on the committee now, and you have a job to do.

Today, you begin an important conversation about how to ensure that aviation in America remains vital, competitive, sustainable, and, above all, safe.
This committee reflects our commitment at DOT to provide the kind of leadership that will help keep this industry healthy and moving forward.

Last November, at our Future of Aviation Forum, we challenged the entire aviation community to select the top five issues that needed immediate attention.

And I asked everyone at the forum to nominate individuals to serve on this new advisory committee.

As a result of that process, we now have our highly qualified committee of 19.

It’s a cross-section of the entire industry, encompassing the airlines, transportation unions, manufacturing, general aviation, academia, finance, and consumer groups.

Susan Kurland, DOT’s Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, is the Department’s very able representative.

I want to stress that the issues defining this committee’s mission – and driving its first round of deliverables – are not Ray LaHood’s issues.

This isn’t the government telling you what to do.

These are your issues, your priorities, your concerns:

ONE -- Ensuring aviation safety,

TWO -- Ensuring a world-class aviation workforce,

THREE -- Balancing the industry’s competitiveness and viability,

FOUR -- Securing stable funding for aviation systems, and

FIVE -- Addressing environmental challenges and solutions.

As you begin your work, I’m charging all of you to keep three important goals in mind:

First, recommend actions we can take now, or in the very near future, which will make a real difference.

Second, bear in mind we have a powerful toolbox to work with – including Federal rule-making, proposing legislation to Congress, and recommending compliance measures for private industry.

And third, the real strength of this committee lies in this diversity.

So, listen to one another.

Learn from one another.

Build new bridges of collaboration and cooperation.

This will spark the kind of insight and innovation we need.

This is your chance to make a meaningful contribution to ensure that the industry you love will not merely survive, but thrive.

For example, on our agenda for the next meeting will be a proposed rule – which we plan to announce next week – that provides additional consumer protections for air travelers, building on the airline consumer rule that took effect last month.

It will address data reporting and contingency plans in the event of tarmac delays.

It will broaden available consumer information.

And it will strengthen consumer protections in a number of areas – expanding consumer rights in the event of over-sales, flight cancellations and long delays and ensuring that passengers have accurate and adequate information to make informed decisions when selecting flights.

We value your input – and hope to work together in improving both our air transportation system and the way travelers interact with it.
The bottom line is this: The skeptics and cynics will say, “This is just another blue-ribbon, government committee – all talk and no action.”
But you’re going to prove them wrong.

The aviation industry is at a critical crossroads, facing a range of complex economic, environmental, and technological challenges.
Simply put, we need your experience and expertise to solve them.

I have every confidence in your ability to come up with serious, actionable recommendations that are the basis for meaningful changes that we, or
Congress, or other stakeholders, can act on sooner rather than later.

You’re the leaders of this industry. You can make it happen.

Thank you in advance for all your hard work. I wish you much success.

And I look forward to the results you produce for this industry and the traveling public.

It’s now my pleasure to introduce our FAA Administrator, Randy Babbitt.