Cultured Travel Guide Books - TERMINAL CHAOS: Why U.S. Air Travel Is Broken and How to Fix It (Library of Flight Series) |
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List Price: $29.95
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 387.70973
EAN: 9781563479496
ISBN: 1563479494
Label: Amer Inst of Aeronautics &
Manufacturer: Amer Inst of Aeronautics &
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2008-05-09
Publisher: Amer Inst of Aeronautics &
Studio: Amer Inst of Aeronautics & |
| Spotlight Customer Reviews: |
Customer Rating:  
Summary: Interesting
Comment: The book was of interest to me as an aviation writer. I found many of the points to be valid and well supported. However, the focus was far to narrow and was limited to infrastructure shortcomings. There was little attention paid to the failures of management and lack of vision. It tells part, but not all, of the story.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Donohue Says the System is Broken (and He Should Know)
Comment: A critique of the current crisis in airline travel and America's air traffic control system -- as told by one of the architects of the current mess (and his ghost-writer). Donohue throughout demonstrates more than adequately that he has no understanding of airline economics or of the technical issues he was supposedly responsible for. Donohue should not be peddling books; Donohue should be on trial for professional malfeasance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Comment: The author really understand the complex issues that are crippling our nation's air traffic system. Very evident that he wants to spark change through this book. We can only hope that things will get better before they get worse!
Customer Rating:
Summary: As the son of an oncologist...
Comment: ...let me tell you how you should treat that pancreatic cancer. Ms. Barlow...I mean really...get ahold of yourself.
This book claims to have its fingers on the pulse of the US ATC system, then it claims to be able to prescribe treatments for what ails the system. But it never considers the possibility that its diagnoses may be faulty. Any Doctor worth listening to will encourage you to get a second opinion for major illnesses. Any Doctor who discourages a second opinion should be ignored.
This book claims to diagnose major problems in the health of the US ATC system and prescribes, ever so quietly, privatization as the cure.
But on what does it base its diagnoses? A comparison to the European system and the allegation that the duration of a flight from NY to Chicago was 1/3 less fifty years ago. Well what a happy coincidence - the European system today is handling about the same volume of traffic that the US system handled fifty years ago!
To my knowledge the controllers' union has NEVER alleged that the US has the safest ATC system in the world - that is a claim touted many times by the FAA before Congress.
The authors of this book are well-known advocates of privatization - and not just of air traffic control.
The fact of the matter is there is only so much airspace over this great country of ours, and only so many runways. Whether the system is run by a corporation or the government, that fact will not change. Between the airlines, the regulators, the passengers, the municipalities, the noise activists, the environmental activists and the trade unions (and I don't mean to diminish the right of any of those groups to have a say in the system) - we have the air travel system in this country we deserve. Placing it in the hands of a corporation won't change the dynamics involved - just who is controlling the purse strings.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. This book is a perfect example of that axiom.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book in which ATC is but one part of the problem
Comment: As a daughter of an ATC veteran, I know what I am talking about.
Yesterday, one review of this book appeared in which ATC/NATCA took some knocks. What did they do? Same thing they always do, deflect responsibility and attack the messenger. So all of a sudden, 4 poor reviews of the book appear from pro-NATCA people.
Until the first review appeared, NATCA was quiet. Yesterday, the NATCA blogs and mailing lists got busy, telling everyone who could to post negative reviews about the book.
That's the NATCA way, deflect responsibility, protect members at all costs, plausible denial, etc., etc.
NATCA members work hard. The bad part is their leadership is empty. We need more automation and fewer controllers, and that is what they are scared about.
As for me, I am reading this book, and it is excellent.
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| Editorial Reviews: |
In total passenger miles, air travel has never been more popular. But as any frequent flyer knows, air travel problems are growing even faster long lines, lost luggage, overbooking, flight delays, and serious safety issues. And instead of doing something about it, the traveling public seems simply to be sitting down, buckling in, and allowing itself to be treated like sheep.
But it doesn't have to be this way. There are solutions to our air travel problems, real solutions that can make real differences. And they don t require 15 years to implement.
With decades of experience in civil aviation and policy, Drs. George Donohue and Russell Shaver are well qualified to assess the problems in the system and to offer responsible, workable solutions. Dr. Donohue, the current Director of the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research and a Professor of Systems Engineering at George Mason University (GMU), has extensive high-level experience at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dr. Shaver, formerly a senior RAND Corporation research analyst and now a visiting research fellow at GMU, served as chief scientist for policy analysis at the MITRE Center for Advanced Aviation System Development.
The stories they tell are compelling. They are high-profile horror stories passengers stranded for hours on the tarmac, flights canceled for bad weather when there s not a drop of rain anywhere near the flight path, and an overall sense of apathy and obstructionism among those responsible for managing the industry. Interestingly, these problems are not the inevitable result of the size or complexity of the U.S. system. Air transportation in Europe, with almost identical air traffic control systems and safety standards, is far better. Amsterdam moves 30% more passengers than Newark, but the average flight delay is an order of magnitude lower. In addition, a European Passenger s Bill of Rights giving distressed passengers the right to substantial and immediate compensation has been a powerful incentive for non-U.S. airlines to maintain their schedules.
The Causes
So just how did we get where we are in the U.S. system today? Donohue and Shaver cite multiple reasons for the chaos we now face. These causes include airline deregulation, multiple governmental agencies with no central oversight or responsibility, multiple corporate entities with conflicting agendas, and a technologically outdated air traffic control system. Even more importantly, there seems to be a complete absence of advocacy for the customer the passengers. The authors also explain that our air travel problems, if left unaddressed, are on a direct course to greatly impact the overall U.S. economy and harm our global competitiveness. In 2006 alone, the delays and cancellations cost U.S. travelers an estimated $3.2 billion. And in 2004 and 2005, the U.S. tourism industry is estimated to have lost $98 billion in revenue due to our air travel mess.
The Cures
Fortunately, Donohue and Shaver don t leave us in this state of chaos. Their provocative analysis not only identifies the causes and extent of the problems, but also provides us with a course heading that will put us on the path to recovery. The solutions they propose include holding the government decision-makers responsible, expanding the capacity of airports and airplanes, modernizing the air traffic control system, and implementing what the authors call the 30% solution to significantly reduce congestion.
In short, this book should be read by every airline passenger traveling in or through the United States. As a country,
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