Summer of Discontent

I just had an experience that I am afraid is what we will all be experiencing at an increasing rate. It was not fun.

On a trip back from the southeast I had to make a connection through Dallas. My flight on a regional jet departed on time, arriving at DFW a few minutes early. We were told that there had been some weather event the night before and planes were leaving the gates late so we waited on the ramp for 30 minutes before finally getting to a gate. I dashed to make my 50 minute connection and missed it by 1 minute.

I was rebooked on a flight leaving four hours later. That flight left the gate on time, but as we approached the takeoff runway, the pilot announced that there was weather to the east and the revised departure route would require departing planes to be placed in 25 mile trail instead of the normal 7 miles. I couldn’t count them all but my guess is that there were over 30 planes waiting ahead of us. We finally took off one hour after leaving the gate.

It is clear to me that these delays were not weather delays but rather a result of a broken ATC system. A system that separates aircraft by 25 miles at low altitudes is not only broken, but ridiculous. I am not sure what caused the late push back and jam up at the gate when I arrived, but I will bet it had nothing to do with weather the previous night. My guess is that regional jets were being held at the gate for the same reason we waited on my second leg. Regional jets can not burn fuel for and hour before taking off and fly 3 plus hours. (Hardly a regional trip but becoming more common as the airlines downsize equipment.)

Unfortunately I am finding this is the norm for airline travel. Sooner or later the flying public will stop believing the controller union’s spiel about the finest ATC system, and become tired of the airline and GA alphabet groups’ whining about user fees and who pays what. Eventually the public will wake up to the fact that it is the way ATC is governed that is causing their pain, and demand change.

I have co-authored, with Jonathan Howe, a guest editorial on this subject in the May issue of Professional Pilot magazine. Click here to read what we had to say.