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Title: TERMINAL CHAOS: Why U.S. Air Travel Is Broken and How to Fix It (Library of Flight Series)
ISBN: 1563479494
Author:
George L.
Ph.D. Donohue
Publicate Date: 2008-05-09
Publish: 2008-05-09
List Price: $29.95
Average Customer Rating: 2.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $23.69
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $26.70
Amazon Merchant Price: $23.96
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Interesting
The book was of interest to me as an aviation writer. I found many of the points to be valid and well supported. However, the focus was far to narrow and was limited to infrastructure shortcomings. There was little attention paid to the failures of management and lack of vision. It tells part, but not all, of the story.
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2: Donohue Says the System is Broken (and He Should Know)
A critique of the current crisis in airline travel and America's air traffic control system -- as told by one of the architects of the current mess (and his ghost-writer). Donohue throughout demonstrates more than adequately that he has no understanding of airline economics or of the technical issues he was supposedly responsible for. Donohue should not be peddling books; Donohue should be on trial for professional malfeasance.
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3: Great book.
The author really understand the complex issues that are crippling our nation's air traffic system. Very evident that he wants to spark change through this book. We can only hope that things will get better before they get worse!
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4: As the son of an oncologist...
...let me tell you how you should treat that pancreatic cancer. Ms. Barlow...I mean really...get ahold of yourself.
This book claims to have its fingers on the pulse of the US ATC system, then it claims to be able to prescribe treatments for what ails the system. But it never considers the possibility that its diagnoses may be faulty. Any Doctor worth listening to will encourage you to get a second opinion for major illnesses. Any Doctor who discourages a second opinion should be ignored.
This book claims to diagnose major problems in the health of the US ATC system and prescribes, ever so quietly, privatization as the cure.
But on what does it base its diagnoses? A comparison to the European system and the allegation that the duration of a flight from NY to Chicago was 1/3 less fifty years ago. Well what a happy coincidence - the European system today is handling about the same volume of traffic that the US system handled fifty years ago!
To my knowledge the controllers' union has NEVER alleged that the US has the safest ATC system in the world - that is a claim touted many times by the FAA before Congress.
The authors of this book are well-known advocates of privatization - and not just of air traffic control.
The fact of the matter is there is only so much airspace over this great country of ours, and only so many runways. Whether the system is run by a corporation or the government, that fact will not change. Between the airlines, the regulators, the passengers, the municipalities, the noise activists, the environmental activists and the trade unions (and I don't mean to diminish the right of any of those groups to have a say in the system) - we have the air travel system in this country we deserve. Placing it in the hands of a corporation won't change the dynamics involved - just who is controlling the purse strings.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. This book is a perfect example of that axiom.
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5: Great book in which ATC is but one part of the problem
As a daughter of an ATC veteran, I know what I am talking about.
Yesterday, one review of this book appeared in which ATC/NATCA took some knocks. What did they do? Same thing they always do, deflect responsibility and attack the messenger. So all of a sudden, 4 poor reviews of the book appear from pro-NATCA people.
Until the first review appeared, NATCA was quiet. Yesterday, the NATCA blogs and mailing lists got busy, telling everyone who could to post negative reviews about the book.
That's the NATCA way, deflect responsibility, protect members at all costs, plausible denial, etc., etc.
NATCA members work hard. The bad part is their leadership is empty. We need more automation and fewer controllers, and that is what they are scared about.
As for me, I am reading this book, and it is excellent.
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