Mayor Pete – widely talked about as the Democrats’ “Plan B” if Joe Biden doesn’t seek re-election in 2024 due to age – gave airline CEOs a public ‘talking to’ over their reliability. Complaining about airlines always polls well.
Buttigieg said he is pushing the airlines to stress-test their summer schedules to ensure they can operate all their planned flights with the employees they have, and to add customer-service workers. That could put pressure on airlines to make additional cuts in their summer schedules.
…During Thursday’s virtual meeting, airline executives described steps they are taking to avoid a repeat of the Memorial Day weekend, when about 2,800 flights were canceled. “Now we’re going to see how those steps measure up,” Buttigieg said.
He was doing his best Hans Blix impersonation sending U.S. carriers a sternly worded message.
The very next day one of these airlines cancelled his flght and he “wound up driving from Washington to New York.”
Perhaps he was driving distance between himself and President Biden by choosing to fly between New York and DC. But the truth is that while Buttigieg is scolding airlines over their operational performance he is partly responsible for the problem, and isn’t actually doing things within his power to help fix it.
- Buttigieg knew or should have known airlines had already shed staff even as he championed the third round of pandemic airline subsidies on the basis of being ready to fly when passengers were ready to return. Either he was dishonest (he had to help sell administration policy) or he got rolled (he didn’t know what he was talking about). Either way reflects poorly on him.
- He could push to repeal the 1500 hour rule to increase the supply of pilots. The rule makes pilots scarce, is a subsidy to pilots unions, but doesn’t enhance safety – which is why Europe didn’t follow.
- DC – New York flights often face delays due to congested air space but Buttigieg doesn’t support spinning off air traffic control into a separate organization like in Canada and much of Europe. That allows for better capital investment and innovation as well as safety (a best practice is separating out the regulator from the people being regulated, the FAA could focus on safety regulation rather than mere self-regulation).
- Of course Buttigieg even pledged fealty to the Jones Act which drives up energy and other prices, and keeps people poorer in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, so this shouldn’t surprise.
Scott Kirby, whose messaging is managed by former Obama spokesman Josh Earnest, plays the political game. Not only has United gone woke they backed the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for businesses and environmental goals. We can be certain that Buttigieg wasn’t flying United when his flight was cancelled – not because Buttigieg would have received special treatment (hopefully United learned its lesson after losing a CEO to the Bridgegate corruption scandal) but because United’s flight to New York would have put the Transportation Secretary in.. New Jersey.
Buttigieg scolds the U.S. airlines but he could have done – and could still do – things that would help improve operational reliability. He’d rather jawbone though than do the hard work – even if it means feeling the consequences of cancellations himself.
(HT: @crucker)
Surprised he didn’t take the train.
Credit card and air traffic control expert. Awesome. Smug.
Why Smooth Talking Pete would not take his government subsidized low CO2 emission Acela train when he knows that airlines in summer meltdown mode fly high CO2 emission aluminum tubes is a real mystery!
Typical Washington bureaucrat… Always willing to criticize about what they know absolutely nothing about.
Good. Airlines need to be checked.
The airlines have more than enough data to show that ATC delays are far greater on fewer departures than for many, many years.
The reality is that the FAA does not have enough controllers and ATC delays are far worse than they should be for the weather the US is experiencing.
Instead of accept responsibility and own the problem, B just like his boss blames everyone else.
You do have to wonder what the big 3 airline CEOs saw in Biden that they sucked up to him for so long.
Butt-head giving advice to the airlines is like having Stevie Wonder consulting with GM on how to deliver a better driving experience.
Whutta buffoon. Pothole pete couldnt even fix the roads in a town within Indiana, Talk about the Peter Principle in action..
@K
As smug as K, expert in nothing?
So we should go back to pilots needing 250 hours rather than 1500 because pilots have six times too many hours to qualify?
Someone needs to publicize his reliability as mayor of South Bend, IN. Apparently, people there regard him as a lamentable failure.
Have you been to South Bend? Really seen it?
Wondering why Notre Dame hasn’t won a championship since 1988? Why they are overrated in pre-season polls year after year? Marquee recruits take one look around that sorry city compared to the Florida coast or even Tuscaloosa and decide ‘No way am I living here’ even despite the free ride offered them if they spend four years in the toilet that is South Bend. How this moron bluffed his way into the federal government probably has more to do with his politically correct proclivities than anything else.
Why does he sound like one of those people who are congenitally dishonest? Is it because, like Hilary Clinton, everything he says is couched in exculpatory clauses? Is it because he is an ex McKinsey accountant (a profession where lies are currency)? He is devious, scheming, self-centered and dishonest. The least believable person in the Biden regime..
Not sure why PB didn’t drive an electric car instead after scolding the country for not doing the same. PB needs to position himself as achieving something when he runs again in 2 years. That’s all this is.
People think he is “plan b”. Good luck with Democrats.
@John L: Is that superstition?
He will never be president. Imagine him lol. He’s not even a real man.
Another one of Biden’s affirmative action appointees. Not because he actually knows anything, think South Bend but because of a feel-good policy of Biden.
Is Pete already back from maternity leave?
He needs to look at himself and his fellow agencies in the mirror before speaking. A myriad of ATC delays due to staffing issues at ARTCC (I.e. JAX Center), long TSA/CBP lines, and long-lasting and dated COVID policies. Perhaps this administration should do an exam of its own agencies’ performance before going after the private sector.
“Tongue lashing” ha ha I see what did there. Let’s face it. If he wasn’t gay he’d be just another nobody.
Gary’s the one who should look in the mirror. Giving businesses billions in the hope but no requirement that they be ready to go when COVID receded was what was done in 2020. And the airlines have kept their promise, which was no promise at all.
With virtually 100% filled seats, there is now no price competition and also none as to service. That’s called a monopoly and there should be a system in place with serious fines for jerking the US public around, as the airlines are. Gary won’t argue for that due to his stance on government control, but putting up a straw man who came into this mess after the bad deal was struck and the money spent just riles up those looking for easy answers to complex problems, like many of the comments above.
Pete Butthead is a complete Idiot. He should be flipping burgers at McDonalds.
Clueless in Washington…what else is new? My company is hiring people and training as fast as they can. A problem that is faced is: once trained…they don’t show up for work! Most airlines are “sim limited” when it comes to pilot training. The law states how much training for pilots is REQUIRED and I dare say that most airlines exceed required training. However, the simulators require constant maintenance and pilots can only train so many hours a day. Simulators take up a lot of space and are extremely expensive. Flight attendants are the same way but in many cases, once trained…they don’t show up for the flight. “I’m in XXXX for a wedding!” “No…you’re supposed to be on a flight from XXX to YYY.” “I’m calling in sick!”…when they’re really not sick. Washington Center and Jacksonville Center are notorious for closing airspace at the slightest hint of bad weather. The airlines can’t carry enough fuel to carry the loads required for the trip. Our FAA flight controllers are the best in the business but, like pilots, can’t be trained overnight. They need more controllers like the airlines need pilots. Granted, the airlines “over schedule”… schedule management doesn’t talk to the various training departments to see if training can keep up with the aggressive schedule. It’s a vicious circle! Like most of what is going on in Washington, the administration has placed incompetent people in positions for which they are incapable of managing. The administration would rather fill a niche with a politically correct person rather than placing a person qualified to hold the position.
Big surprise there – the public wants the cheapest airfares, and the airlines pay FA’s/Agents, etc., the bare minimum, and they even qualify for food stamps with the industry wages for new FA’s. You can only live on what the airline pays after 10+ plus years of service. Whoever didn’t see this coming is not informed about how badly the Airlines pay and how horribly they are treated by passengers and their own company. So, it’s no surprise that no one wants to do that job anymore; however, the management pay is not affected, and they live a good life.
@Billy Bob. Clearly you are too busy sleeping with your daddy’s uncle’s sister in Alabama to have followed how Notre Dame is recruiting for 2023 and 2024,
@John L
Don’t quit your day job…stupid, tactless and definitely not funny
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What we really need to do herr is look at the data with these cancelations and look for any pattern of discrimination. Are flights to San Francisco (gays) or Detroit (blacks) being cancelled at a higher rate than flights to West Palm Beach (wealthy, white, Trump)? I think its high time for the DOT DEI coordinator to start enforcement action. Also, I hear Pete is pregnant again.
The solution is simple. Keep spare aircraft (bring planes back out of storage) and put crews on ready reserve at major airline hubs. The airlines all put profits over leaving stranded passengers and stop blaming the weather!
@ Koggerj
He is more of a man than you’ll ever be !!
I bet you’ve never even served in the service like he has !
Sorry Pete . . . lost confidence in you when container ships were stacked up outside of Long Beach and the transportation supply chain was in shambles while you were on a two-month paternity leave.
@Tim j
Someone like him should have never been allowed in the military.
Disgrace to his uniform and nation.
This puffer wants me to buy a Tesla. He can buy his own private plane then…
Gary, shame on you! Your comments as if you “know it all” are a real cheap shot and way out of line. Been reading you blog for years and this is the first time I have ever felt you had no handle on what you were talking about!
This ex-mayor of a small college town knows nothing about national transportation issues. He should go back on paternity and leave big issues to those with knowledge and experience.
Tongue lashing? Really?
Are people here really suggesting he isn’t a real man because he’s gay?
Eff-off. Homophobes are in the minority now.
Instead of debating the merits and deficiencies of a government official, some here choose to attack his sexual orientation. Would you like to go back to the 1950s when this was acceptable?
Go crawl back into your degenerate hole.
Buttgag, like Janet Yellen, is in the deep end of the pool without a life jacket. Hasn’t a plan nor a clue beyond mere political theatre.
It’s a shame that a thread that is supposed to be focused on discussing relevant airline issues has devolved into political mud slinging. You didn’t help things, Gary, when you characterized United’s position on something as being “woke.”
Let’s stick to the relevant topics and leave the political flame throwing to Twitter.
What an absolute Moron! No experience running any sort of transportation system – South Bend was a mess – and has no business grand standing as this is. When he infrequently even shows up for “work” he needs to stick to riding his bike in DC (which was a total PR photo op stunt) and go back on maternity leave without pay!!
@Gary – These trollbait posts really are getting to be overdone. Come on man, just look at the above comments. Is that truly what you want to be known for, being the troll facilitator? I genuinely respect you and enjoy your perspectives and analysis but maybe it’s time to return to either more relevant topics or less political couching of subjects.
I’m with Christian here. Way outta line. Cut this stuff off.
Gary: Thanks for your continuing use of clickbait articles which invite flamethrowing and general strife. As I will not be visiting your site again (after years of being here every day) you have saved me some time each day.
That butt has seen far too many gigs
@Koggerj
The only disgrace is being a Chump Fool. Now remind us again what branch and outfit did you serve in the military?
@CHRIS
Nothing like a Chump Fool who is also a Racist and Homophobe Fool.
@Bill
Obviously you have a short memory. Container ships started to stack up when your lying a-hole Chump was in office due to a loss of 85,000 truck drivers Neither Chump or Sleepy Joe could have prevented that.
The middle-east doesn’t have to deal with this nonsense.
Everyone in the Biden Admin is either there because of their race, gender or sexuality.
It’s honestly really pathetic.
Rog is having another TDS flare-up.
Ol’ “Buttplug” needs to STFU!