I’ve said this before, and never with more urgency since Tuesday’s debacle - we have to replace our decades old ATC system now.

Yes, I know by year’s end, the FAA says it will have completed upgrades to the “aging” National Airspace Data Interchange Network, and it “has a lot more memory so what happened [Tuesday] could never happen again” but, this strikes me a a patch work job - a piecemeal effort at a “fix”.

I’m also very aware that the FAA has been pushing for a whole new satellite-guided system that equips planes with GPS (and I’ve interviewed FAA officials about this), but that’s expected to take more than a decade. An FAA spokesman described it this way:

“This is one of the largest project management challenges the U.S. government has had since we put somebody on the moon.” — FAA spokesman

But already, it’s been talked about for years. Let’s see - it was 1961 when President Kennedy called for putting a man on the moon - a mission that was accomplished in 1969. How about the same urgency for equipment to handle the flights all of us take everyday?

The Federal Aviation Administration says Southwest Airlines must pay the proposed $10 million-plus fine assessed against it — by August 29 — or it will turn the matter over the U.S. Attorney’s office.

According to the FAA, the fine is “appropriate” — it was imposed after the FAA said the carrier operated some planes that had not had fuselage inspections — planes that were flown back in 2006 and 2007.

A Southwest spokesperson could tell us little beyond the fact that they “will continue to explore our options” in response to this latest communication.

Wonder if this tough talk by the FAA is giving American pause — that airline was recently fined $7 million-plus, for reportedly returning planes to service despite pilots’ reports of safety problems.

We all saw this coming…

The Air Transport Association of America — the U.S. airline trade group — is suing the FAA over its plan to auction off slots at some airports.

The group thinks this plan will increase traffic at Newark, while the FAA thinks it will improve matters.

For what it’s worth, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages all the big New York-area airports (and that includes Newark) also opposes the FAA in this matter.

The Dept. of Transportation’s bureau that keeps watch over statistics (cleverly named, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics) has just released a report that shows we say “yes” and “no” to allowing cell phone use on our airlines.

Actually, how we feel about cell phones is clearly a “generational” thing:

• Age 18 to 34: almost half said cells SHOULD be allowed
• Age 65 and over: more than half said cells SHOULD NOT be used

Curious as to what you think — and, how would you handle it if the person next to you was yakking (or even texting) on a cell phone, while you were trying to relax?

All comments welcome.

The battle is on, over the DOT’s “slot auction” I told you about yesterday.

The Air Transport Association (ATA) which represents most U.S. airlines says they are going to court:

“DOT’s auction proposal is unlawful, unwise and will do absolutely nothing to reduce congestion and flight delays in New York. DOT has left us no options - we will sue to prevent this illegal action.” — James C. May, ATA

And the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) say DOT’s slot auction is illegal.

As they say — stay tuned.

Get ready: the Dept. of Transportation has announced that on Sept. 3, it will auction off the right to land and take off at Newark once a day (a single roundtrip flight).

These particular slots, as they’re called, had been leased to Eos Airlines, but it bit the dust earlier this year.

According to DOT Sec. Mary Peters, the funds generated from the auction will be used to “reduce delays and enhance capacity” at New York-area airports.

This is the second in a series of reports from my meetings last month with Department of Transportation officials in Washington, D.C. (see the first report, on DOT Secretary Mary Peters and “Air Woes”, right here). Your comments are welcome.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding FAA’s Acting Administrator Robert “Bobby” Sturgell at the conference, due to the fact that he once flew fighter jets as a naval aviator and then later used that experience to become a flight instructor at the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (that’s Top Gun school to most of us).

I think people were half-expecting to see Tom Cruise or Val Kilmer sitting across the table from them.

Instead, what I found was a trim-looking, 48-year old man who clearly had a lot on his mind. Sturgell seemed a bit distracted and tired, and he looked as though he was taking the responsibility of the world on his shoulders (think American Airlines & MD-80 groundings). Most of this responsibility comes in the form of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Integrated National Plan, or NextGen for short. A major part of our discussion revolved around how NextGen will bring air traffic control out of the Dark Ages. However, saying that and executing it are two different things, and I think that is what was weighing Sturgell down.

Keep reading for a look at NextGen…

This is the first in a series of reports from my meetings last month with Department of Transportation officials in Washington, D.C. Your comments are welcome.

I interviewed Transportation Secretary Mary Peters a couple of weeks back, and she is certainly a very nice woman.

A self-made woman, as well: according to online reports, she married young, worked odd jobs, raised 3 kids, received a bachelors degree from the University of Phoenix, and had worked her way up the ranks of the Arizona Dept. of Transportation when Washington beckoned. Oh, and Peters’ early marriage endured: this summer (if I have my dates right), she and husband Terry celebrate their 42^nd wedding anniversary.

But what about Peters and the air travel industry? We’ll talk about the “fixes” that she and the government are trying — but, is this meaningful change — or a bunch of baloney?