Feb 12, 2012
Ground Delay
As Americans prepare to take to the skies later this week during the infamous "Thanksgiving Getaway" they will most likely find themselves face-to-face with our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Decades of decay, compounded by budget cuts and a struggling airline industry have crippled America’s airports and airways. While Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have pumped millions of dollars into their aviation infrastructure, the United States has failed to update our ports of exit and entry.
Our standing in the international arena is clear. According to a recent Skytrax survey, the top ten world airports are located outside of the United States, with the best four located in Asia. These results are not surprising as Asia has funneled capital into airport development and construction as a means of supporting their export-driven economies. In addition to hubs of commerce, these Asian airports have become breeding grounds for innovation. Man-made islands, environmentally friendly buildings, and new public transit technologies have debuted in airports from Singapore to Shanghai.
Journalist Thomas Friedman best summarizes America’s failure to invest in our air infrastructure noting that on a recent trip from New York City’s JFK to Singapore’s Changi International, “We felt like we had just flown from The Flinstones to The Jetsons.” These pangs will certainly be felt this upcoming week as America tests the backbone of our internal transportation system.
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Nice post u have here :D
Nice post u have here :D Added to my RSS reader
I would like to add to the
I would like to add to the above comments that whilst many U.S airports are in decay and the levels of customer satisfaction are in decline, the number of airports in the U.S are vast compared to the new stylish and luxurious airports of Singapore and Hong Kong; therefore it must be noted that in Asia they have been able to pump large sums of money into these few specific locations, whereas the U.S. has had to maintain a much larger portfolio. As a result the U.S continues to stretch its resources and fund necessary security upgrades. However, the network of airports in the U.S. is crucial to both the economy and the lives of its citizens and perhaps via a long term strategy certain improvements for customers such as shopping, catering and quality of service should be made to maintain and increase the amount of people who are regularly willing to travel.
With regards to U.S. air
With regards to U.S. air travel, critics are right that many ports are crumbling, that security procedures are absurdly inefficient and frequently dehumanizing, that ATC technology is paleolithic, that airline and airport personnel are increasingly surly, and that passengers are ever-more impatient and pushy. Yet American air travellers are also the particular beneficiaries of a tremendous decline over the decades in inflation-adjusted fares, making the safety and (relative) comfort of air travel available to hundreds of millions. Until the relatively recent global rise of the LCC business model, such was not the case elsewhere. In the U.S., lives have been saved and quality of life has been improved, perhaps well worth the price of the concomitant (and relatively minor) headaches.
I'd tend to argue that we've
I'd tend to argue that we've still put a whole lot more into our air infrastructure than our trains. From what I've heard, the main limiting factor at this point is runway space near major cities. So artificial islands and such are one way to do it, but probably most any additions will be further from city centers, although perhaps made more useful via mass transit as you mentioned.
Anyhow, I think it's safe to say that at the margins investment in train infrastructure will have greater return than air infrastructure until we have high speed rail on our major corridors. That said, if we wanted to do something cheap but politically hard to improve air travel, I'd recommend auctioning run-way time. Market distribution of that asset would help rationalize the system and avoid over-stuffing and delays that happen almost every time. Money raised through such a process could cover needed upgrades.