http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec07/delays_08-07.html
(audio and video are available)

The Federal Aviation Administrator sees herself as part of the
airlines. At least that's what I infer from her statement:

In fact, what's amazing is we're running at almost 90 percent load
factors. That means 90 percent of every aircraft have people in
the seats.

And this statement is revealing of her lack of understanding of the
true cause of the delays:

We're very proud of the fact that, in the last 10 years, we have
added 10 major runways at airports around the country that are the
big ones that matter.

And if you listen/watch, you'll see just how biased toward Boeing's
satellite ATC system she is. She has no trepidation at all about the
frailties of satellite communications and their vulnerability to solar
activity.

Larry Dighera > wrote in
:

> In fact, what's amazing is we're running at almost 90 percent load
> factors. That means 90 percent of every aircraft have people in
> the seats.

Are the other 10% the UAVs?
What's in the seats of those planes?



In fact, what's REALLY amazing is that in order to get a top position in the
current administration, IQ tests are confused for golf scorecards.


The one with the lowest score wins.

On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:47:04 GMT, Judah > wrote in
>:

>Larry Dighera > wrote in
:
>
>> In fact, what's amazing is we're running at almost 90 percent load
>> factors. That means 90 percent of every aircraft have people in
>> the seats.
>
>Are the other 10% the UAVs?
>What's in the seats of those planes?

I would have expected the FAA Administrator to refer to the airlines
as air carriers, not we, implying the FAA, but I'm always having my
expectations dashed. Oh well... She's gone in three more days.

On Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:12:39 GMT, Larry Dighera >
wrote in >:

>
>http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec07/delays_08-07.html
>(audio and video are available)
>
>The Federal Aviation Administrator sees herself as part of the
>airlines. At least that's what I infer from her statement:
>
> In fact, what's amazing is we're running at almost 90 percent load
> factors. That means 90 percent of every aircraft have people in
> the seats.
>
[...]
>
>And if you listen/watch, you'll see just how biased toward Boeing's
>satellite ATC system she is.

Well It looks like my inference of Ms. Blakey's statement was near the
mark:

BLAKEY TO HEAD AEROSPACE ASSOCIATION
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/938-full.html#195975)
A new job is literally waiting in the wings for Marion Blakey when
her term as FAA Administrator ends next month. It was announced on
Tuesday () that Blakey will be the next president and CEO of the
Aerospace Industries Association, the trade association
representing the nation's manufacturers of aerospace equipment.
The appointment officially takes effect on Nov. 12. Blakey
succeeds John Douglass, who has been president and CEO of AIA
since September 1998 and will remain with AIA through Dec. 31 to
provide counsel and ensure a smooth transition.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/938-full.html#195975


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101889_pf.html
FAA Chief To Become Aerospace Lobbyist

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 22, 2007; D01

The nation's chief defense-industry lobbying group has selected
Marion C. Blakey, administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, as its new chief executive.

Industry officials confirmed yesterday that Blakey will head the
Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), replacing John W.
Douglass, 66, who is retiring. Late yesterday, the association
made the announcement official.

Blakey is the latest of several top administration officials to
depart as President Bush's term winds to a close. Last week,
Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove announced that he
would leave at the end of the month.

In her new job, which is to start in November, Blakey will be the
most prominent spokesperson to the federal government for the
makers of commercial aircraft and for contractors to the Pentagon.
Founded in 1919 -- only a few years after the birth of man-made
flight -- the AIA, based in Arlington, concentrates on three
areas: civil aviation, space and national security.

Its more than 100 members include Boeing, General Dynamics,
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Textron and United Technologies.

The AIA represents the nation's largest manufacturers and
suppliers of civil, military and business aircraft; unmanned
aerial vehicles; space systems; aircraft engines, missiles and
related components; aerospace services; and information
technology. Its early members included aerospace pioneers Orville
Wright and Glenn Curtiss.

Blakey, 59, has had a long career in the transportation industry,
both inside and outside government. She was sworn in as FAA
administrator in September 2002. The FAA oversees aviation safety
and operates the world's largest air-traffic-control system. Her
term ends next month.

Before heading the FAA, Blakey chaired the National Transportation
Safety Board, the federal agency that investigates civil aviation
accidents and significant accidents on railroads, highways and
pipelines. It also recommends changes that would prevent
accidents.

In 1992 and 1993, Blakey was administrator of the Transportation
Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which
made her the country's leading highway safety official. From 1993
to 2001, she ran Blakey & Associates, now Blakey & Agnew, a public
affairs consulting firm in the District, with a particular focus
on transportation issues.
[...]

Blakey's successor at the FAA has not been named. But
administration officials discussed with members of Congress the
possibility of naming Barbara Barrett, a former deputy FAA
administrator under President Ronald Reagan and the wife of Craig
R. Barrett, chairman of Intel.

Larry Dighera wrote:
> http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec07/delays_08-07.html
> (audio and video are available)
>
> The Federal Aviation Administrator sees herself as part of the
> airlines. At least that's what I infer from her statement:
>
> In fact, what's amazing is we're running at almost 90 percent load
> factors. That means 90 percent of every aircraft have people in
> the seats.
>
> And this statement is revealing of her lack of understanding of the
> true cause of the delays:
>
> We're very proud of the fact that, in the last 10 years, we have
> added 10 major runways at airports around the country that are the
> big ones that matter.
>
> And if you listen/watch, you'll see just how biased toward Boeing's
> satellite ATC system she is. She has no trepidation at all about the
> frailties of satellite communications and their vulnerability to solar
> activity.
This is what happens when the appointed politician head of the FAA,
whose total aviation experience consists of warming a seat on Southwest
Airlines, opens her mount.

--
"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool."
—- Voltaire