News Release

Commercialization of air traffic control greatly improves performance

Reforms affect cost, safety, and service quality of air traffic services

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wiley

Ontario, Canada – April 22, 2008 – The air transportation industry is imperative to modern society. This industry depends, in turn, on a network of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to manage the flow of air traffic. A new study in Canadian Public Administration, the journal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, reveals that the commercialization of air traffic control organizations has greatly improved performance with respect to cost, safety, and technical modernization.

Led by Glen McDougall, President of MBS Ottawa Inc. and Senior Fellow at George Mason University, the study examined the performance of ten international commercial ANSPs from 1997 to 2004 and compared them to the benchmark of a government department, the United States Federal Aviation Administration.

Researchers performed a quantitative analysis of data provided by the ANSPs which was verified by safety regulators. Legal descriptions of the governance structure of each of the commercial ATC organizations were also reviewed. In addition, over two hundred interviews were conducted with senior managers of the ATC organizations, union representatives, regulators, policy officials, and airline customers.

The evidence shows that the success of the reforms is greatest when governance design limits government micro-management, involves customers in decision making, and ensures effective government oversight of safety. Over the course of this study, costs have generally been reduced, service quality has improved, and several ANSPs have modernized workplace technologies.

This study provides proof that the reforms have been effective in various ways and provides an understanding of the features of governance structures which lead to greater performance. The study also provides a methodology for undertaking similar studies in other fields. The quantitative analysis in particular uses normalized trends to allow comparisons of data between countries.

“This research will have significance on the long term governance arrangements of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which remains a government department,” the authors conclude. “The FAA exhibits many of the restraints on performance that affected air traffic control provision in other countries before commercialization.”

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This study is published in the March 2008 issue of Canadian Public Administration. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact journalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net.

Glen McDougall is President of MBS Ottawa, Inc. and Senior Fellow at George Mason University. He can be reached for questions at glen.mcdougall@mbsottawa.com.

Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada is the refereed scholarly publication of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). It covers executive, legislative, judicial and quasi-judicial functions at all three levels of Canadian government. Published quarterly, the journal focuses mainly on Canadian issues but also welcomes manuscripts which compare Canadian public sector institutions and practices with those in other countries or examine issues in other countries or international organizations which are of interest to the public administration community in Canada.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley’s Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.


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