AvWeb Article

Who's Pushing Privatization?...

Flight Services Union Worried...
The head of the union representing flight service station workers says he's afraid the privatization of the FSS system might become a political football. Wally Pike, president of the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS), told AVweb there are indications the government might ram the deal through before next November's election. He said the FAA has been sticking to a December 2004 to March 2005 timeline for making a decision on privatization but he's recently been told by senior FAA officials that it could be moved up to October, less than a month after all the bid information from would-be contractors is due. "The October date is especially troublesome because it wouldn't give them (FAA) adequate time to review the proposals," said Pike. Pike said the October deadline, if genuine, would fly in the face of a commitment by Administrator Marion Blakey to wait until at least December. However, the current administration's hand might have been forced by a commitment from Democratic contender John Kerry to cancel the privatization process if he's elected.

...FAA On "He Said, She Said"...
The official line from the FAA is that nothing has changed on the timing of any privatization decision. FAA spokesman William Shumann told AVweb that the selection will take place sometime between December and March. Also, at Senate hearings last week, Department of Transportation Inspector General Ken Mead said the determination will be made "by March 2005." He also said privatization won't be considered unless the government can save at least $478 million over five years by doing so. (Of course, there may be different views on the definition of "$478 million saved.") In the meantime, bidders will be busy telling the FAA how they'd run a modernized FSS system while saving all that money. Shumann said there are at least four companies interested in taking over the FSS: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Computer Sciences Corporation. The existing FSS organization, teamed with Harris Corp., is also bidding. By May 3, they must submit a "screening request for information," which Shumann said is a general outline of their proposal. August is the deadline for technical proposals and by September all the financial projections must be in.

...Raytheon Runs Intriguing Ad
Just to add some intrigue to the process, Raytheon ran recruitment ads for flight service specialists and air traffic control specialists in a San Diego newspaper. The ads, run by Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC, say the company is "anticipating the following opportunities at a variety of locations throughout the United States." AVweb contacted the company about the ad but press-relations staff were unable to comment on it by our deadline. Meanwhile, NAATS' Pike says he, too, wants to know more about the advertising. Pike said he first learned of the ad more than a week ago and has been unable to discover its purpose. "We're trying to find out what it's all about," he said. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association is also in the dark. Speculation there is that Raytheon might be making a move on the 200 already-existing contract control towers currently operating in the U.S.