Paper Example on Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Air Traffic Control

Introduction

Many private air companies have always wished to own the government's role in air traffic control due to the government's ignorance of public activities and services. Private air companies often try their ways out in ensuring air traffic is minimized. However, even if the government has control over the air systems, it cannot accomplish all the required activities and roles in time as compared to the private air companies. Additionally, people have different views and attitudes on the government as well as private institutions depending on either their experiences or interests. Therefore, the paper is premised on an argument on the advantages and disadvantages of private companies taking over the government's role in air traffic control.

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Advantages of Private Air Traffic Control

World air travel agencies like the CNN travel, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Luiz Munoz Marin International Airport, United States air control system to name but a few are in the midst of an era of unsurpassed safety, following the fatal terrorists attack in the previous years due to forceful enforcement of air rules by private companies. Air companies know the risks of air travel without proper checking of passenger luggage before departure as many people's lives matter during travel. They also must ensure safety to attract many passengers and earn their trust during travel at any given time. Therefore, the following are the advantages of private companies taking over the role in air traffic control.

Private Air Companies Are Cheaper and Safer

Air traffic control towers that are staffed by private contractors are cheaper and provide more advanced safety level as compared to those towers having government employed contractors. Individual contract towers cost an average of five hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars a year in operating as compared to a two million dollars for government towers with the Federal Aviation Administration employees (Marcia, 2018). The high cost is because the government uses a lot of funds to meet the additional needs of contractors, funds that could have been used sparingly in building and improving the nation. Therefore, the United States' president Donald Trump has handed over about three hundred flight tracking centers and other airport towers to privatization, transferring the United States government's assets (Dallas Morning News, 2017).

Private Access Generation by Airport Pilot Program

The privatization of airport pilot program is designed to accept airports generate access to private sources of capital for development and improvement in their services. The 2012 Reauthorization Act has helped in the development as the number of participating airports in the privatization program has increased from five to ten following the allowances private companies enjoy due to their company policies. Nonetheless, the private air companies ensure they have an aviation airport to meet the Federal Aviation Administration rules for them to be authorized for quality services and participate fully in the privatization program, something which the government agencies are fighting to achieve (Lowy, 2017). The reason is that commercial service airports and airlines can only be leased and the general aviation airports are sold to private agencies or bodies as most of the commercial airports are operated and owned by the state's government. Also, the private air companies sponsor their pilot programs which enhance quality air services as opposed to the government restrictions and rules that every individual fear or strain achieving to please clients, making the private companies better than the government companies in air traffic control (Marcia, 2018).

High Level of Passenger Responsiveness

Privatized airports have a higher level of passenger responsiveness than those airports run by the government. Over the past years, private air companies have been found to be the most economically productive airports, and the least productive was the multi-purpose port authority. During holidays while travelling through government airlines, many travellers run into cancelled flights, long lines and other unavoidable challenges in the airports due to congestion having the thought that private airlines are expensive, which is not the case. Also, facilities problems cause many flight cancellations and delays as the gems of infrastructure stock age into obsolescence ruining passenger holidays because of public airlines and airports (Lowy, 2017). However, the private airports are different such that its managers ensure quick and quality services delivered to clients with an adequate number of flights or planes that fits every person. Also, with the private airports, no congestion can be guaranteed during holidays or regular travelling hours as booking might be made online ascertaining the time of arrival and departure causing limited or no obstruction (Marcia, 2018).

The challenges might make one opt for a public or private airport with ease depending on their preferences or ease of access. Nevertheless, most government air traffic control systems have failed to keep up with their peers from other states because they rarely have the capital in expanding without the government subsidies making the private airports outdoing them. The associated government groups become limited in how they raise their money and taxing highly to meet specific air needs unlike other countries or private airlines that have little independent taxing authority or funds from government or passengers. However, when a region grows or air traffic increases, in this case, the airport revenues do not increase proportionately because of reliance on varying forms of government transfer payments but due to their independence. In relation, scarce capital means very few gates of an airport, runways that do not get built and dated facilities, something that private airports have surpassed (Gale, 2018).

Increased Efficiency and Investment

Privatized airports or airlines have often resulted in increased efficiency and investment. For example, the government presents stumbling blocks in the airports as the Federal Aviation Administration states that the sales proceeds should be used for reinvestments rather than general budget. In most cases, the government always wins thus making some airports to stagnate financially. Private companies differ such that they are a non-profit and non-share corporation, meaning that all profits they incur are reinvested, causing the passengers to benefit more. The desired benefits make private air companies control air traffic efficiently as everyone wants a secure, safe and efficient infrastructure in most airports (Dallas Morning News, 2017).

Nonetheless, efficient infrastructure is needed to meet the airline's demands and customer demands as it needs to be there in time to allow carriers to grow at the required rate. Also, private airports have the facilities to operate freighters or cargo, even for passenger airlines, something that the government airports cannot fight for as they have no facility to go to. Therefore, as an airport operator, you will always ensure that customer needs are met by asking them what they want to avoid some problems. Government agencies deal with a lot of both reliable and unreliable customers and therefore, they do not have the time to ask every individual on their satisfaction or needs due to an overload of work making private air companies better regarding customer satisfaction. Moreover, private companies have long-term investors who invest a lot of energy and capital which enables them to reach their airline customers and the decisions they make, benefit every individual (Lowy, 2017).

Bureaucracy and Political Micromanagement of Public Airlines

Public or government airports that are run as city government departments suffer from bureaucracy and political micromanagement, something that is unheard of in the private airports. Public airports will depend on the ruling president and the president's preferences to a certain airport, who might decide to increase or decrease profits incurred, facilities, infrastructure et cetera as they are responsible for the state's economy. Additionally, public airports may have to rely on the county or city for financial and legal services rather than having their finance. They may also have to award unnecessary contracts to politically favoured bidders, favour anchor tenant airlines and provide VIP treatments for the city officials who use the airport ("The pros and cons of privatization." Washingtonpost.com, 2017). All these differ for the private airlines as all passengers are treated the same and similar services offered to all whether a politician, a VIP, a popular musician or an ordinary citizen. Nonetheless, in the government air agencies, the mayor makes all the decisions pertaining the airport whether an advantage to the airline or a disadvantage and so, it will all depend with the mayor's relationship and the airport manager (Gale, 2018).

As people often refer, politics and money have a strong relationship, and thus, one can be paid to put down an airport due to corruption or hatred towards a certain airline. Moreover, the pension liabilities of great politicians also matter, and they can use the airport funds to finance themselves instead of the public employees. Old cities have aging infrastructure that cannot be renovated by the government due to insufficient or no funds because of corruption. The activities also apply to the government airports. Private airlines care for the facial and first impression towards customers and frequently replace or renovate their systems and facilities. All these are city government and political reasons why private companies should take over the government's role (Gale, 2018).

Asset Recycling

Private air companies practice asset recycling, and it is done to identify revenue producing assets to sell or lease them using the proceeds for investing in infrastructure or for balance sheet repair that does not generate their revenues. For example, privatized airports since they are non-profit, generate their revenue from the passengers, which is used to produce balance sheets or used in repairing infrastructure instead of keeping or misusing as extra profits the way government airports do. Although it is included in their budgets, the income generated has all been catered for its activities. Moreover, the Trump administration is working on ways to attract large-scale capital of the private airports to revamp and improve the public airports due to privatized airlines' good administration or management (Marcia, 2018). However, the public must follow some key things join hands with the private companies to name but a few. First, the government should expand the current tax exempt as part of an overall tax bill and infrastructure for the private activity bond to other infrastructures like airport public-private partnership besides transits and highways. Second, to liberalize the airport privatization pilot program as part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and should include: permit sales and lease including the sale partial ownership, replacing the double supermajority airline requirement for its approval, removing the ten-airport limit so that it only applies to airports where there may be a willing seller or willing buyer et cetera (Gale, 2018).

Private Air Traffic Control Systems Are Incompetently Run

Public airports especially in the United States, are quite competently run and one can point to an exception as opposed to privatized airports. Public airports fear competition and often work on ways to undermine the private companies. Something which they cannot do as they depend on g...