Airline Safety Bill Essay Research Paper Introduction

Airline Safety Bill Essay, Research Paper

Introduction (Background of Actors):

There are quite a few actors in respect to interest groups and domestic airline safety. The interest groups come from varying backgrounds of business, labor, government and public interest. The actors that we are focused on are the domestic airline companies, the aerospace industry, private security firms, various labor groups, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Congress, The World Conference on Transportation Research Society (WCTRS) and the American people.

Business Sector

The business sector plays a major role in our domestic airline safety policies. This particular sector covers the commercial airline industry itself, the manufacturing industry and the private security firms that run security operations in our national and international airports. The major commercial airlines (i.e. Alaska, American, Delta, TWA, United, America West, Northwest, Southwest and US Airways) are instrumental in our decision. The airlines are looking to maximize profit in our capitalist economy and do not wish to bear a major burden financially in our policy. The airlines wish to increase security at the airports and on the airplanes, but are asking for government help financially. With the $15 billion bailout that was recently given the airlines have been able to function without a significant loss. However the problem with this is that the airlines are looking at each fiscal quarter as the progress within their company and are not looking years in advance as to what the impacts of their decisions are.

The manufacturers (i.e. Lockheed-Martin and Boeing) are too looking to make a profit in the economy. The manufacturers concluded that with the attacks there would be a decrease in commercial air travel and thus a decrease in demands for new airplanes by the commercial airlines. With this conclusion the major manufacturers have laid off thousands of employees that would be working in our economy. Again, the problem is that the manufacturers are looking to make a profit now and not looking at the long term goals for their company and society. The manufacturers simply want the airlines to keep purchasing commercial aircraft so they can continue to make a profit from it.

Lastly, in the business sector, we see the private security firms. These firms operate security within the airport and have no federal oversight. These firms are free to train their own people, pay their own wages, without the airlines, the airport, state or federal intervention. These firms know that their security at the checkpoints has been questioned and lax, but do wish to continue operating security at our national and international airports, knowing that some reforms at the federal level must be made. They want to continue to be the main security for the airports.

All in all, the business sector is very powerful in this particular policy making decision. The two main industries dealing with the airplanes themselves are the most powerful. The airline industry, commercial airlines and manufacturers, employ hundreds of thousands of workers each. These firms will be accommodated by us in our decision making progress.

Labor Organizations

The Labor Organizations are very powerful in numbers. The organizations enjoy participation from many thousands of airline employees. The main labor organizations are The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The first three of these groups are all in a common field. The groups are looking to maintain steady work, which they know they will since Americans need to fly, and to provide for a greater security. ALPA, just last week, was in front of Congress trying to pass legislation that would allow pilots to carry loaded handguns into the cockpit. ALPA and APFA know that their members are directly in the line of danger when it comes to hijacked airliners. These two groups want to do what it takes to increase security before, during and after flight. NATCA is simply looking into ways of being able to detect that a plane is hijacked or run off course. There are some devices in place now, but none that are foolproof. Members of IAM are looking to make sure that the manufacturing plants and in turn the commercial airlines stay in full business so that they will remain working. At any cost IAM wants to make sure that the attacks will not indirectly cost them their jobs.

Overall, while the labor organizations are powerful, they must first go through their own industries before we can or they can satisfy our nations needs right now.

Government Sector

There are two main actors in the government sector of our domestic airline safety policy. There are the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who reports to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the United States Congress, to whom we will propose our policy.

The FAA, is the division of the DOT that is responsible for all United States airspace and enforces all regulations upon the airlines, the airplanes and the airports. The FAA is basically under our chain of command and truly will enforce policy o