Issues Regarding U.S. Aviation and the Global Market

Issues Regarding US Aviation and the Global Market

1.              Safety of Global Aviation

The aviation industry has never been safer than it is today. It seems like every year the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) come out with new suggestions and regulations to continue this safety trend. These suggestions and regulations are great to keep the industry safe, but are the International Carriers being held to the same requirements, and is there anything else that we could do to make it safer overseas?

Statistics have shown that the aviation industry is continuing to become safer and safer. However, in the past year, there have been some devastating losses when it comes to international flights. The two major accidents in the past year were from Malaysia Airlines. With these two aircrafts going missing, is there anything that we could possibly do to prevent this from happening in the future? The answer to that question is yes. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other governments are currently working on ways to close the gap. One way ICAO is doing this is by developing a deployment of anti-aircraft weapons. Just like we have deployment of weapons for chemical weapons, and nuclear warheads, we could create a category for aircrafts. Another way that ICAO is looking to increase safety over seas is by implementing a better data-recording query called Global Aviation Data Management (GADM). This query will collect data from flights, airports, air navigation services, along with airframe and engine manufactures. GADM will ve crucial for the future safety in aviation, with the data collected, we will be able to analyze the data and figure out what is going wrong.

2.               FAA Certification of new products

If a company in the aviation industry wants to implement a new product into the market, they have to have it approved and certified by the FAA. The process of this approval is very important. With the FAA having to approve every new product, we know they are going to be safe, which is important when it comes to the aviation industry. However, with the FAA’s lack of resources, they cannot keep up with the growth of the industry. The approval process for the FAA could take anywhere from one month to eighteen months, depending on what type of product is being approved.

With the approval process of the FAA being so time-consuming, the US Aviation industry is missing out on potential business opportunities. Because the approval process takes so long, companies are taking their business overseas because they can be approved quicker.  If we want the US to continue to be the leader in aviation, we need congress to approve more resources for the FAA. If there are more resources available to the FAA, the process of approval for certification will speed up, and business will not feel the need to go elsewhere to get their products approved (Bunce, 2012).

3.              Expanding foreign Markets

A final issue that the U.S. aviation industry is dealing with is the rapid expansion of the foreign markets. The foreign markets are becoming larger each and every day. China, Brazil, and Dubai are the three main foreign markets that are rapidly growing, and becoming more competitive. With the growth of markets overseas, the United States is gong to continue to find new ways to compete with the foreign markets, otherwise we will lose the lead of the aviation industry.

One major issue with the expansion of the overseas markets is the rate of pilot hiring’s. When the Domestic U.S. carriers are already seeing a shortage of pilots, the overseas growth could make that shortage even worse. United States pilots working for companies overseas are looking more lucrative. If a pilot were to go overseas for a job, they have the ability to make triple what they would in the U.S. (Wang, 2012). If this type of compensation influences pilots, the current domestic pilot shortage will continue to increase.

Works Cited

Bunce, Pete. "Hearing: The Global Competitiveness of the U.S. Aviation Industry: Addressing Competition Issues to Maintain U.S. Leadership in the Aerospace Market | GAMA - General Aviation Manufacturers Association." Hearing: The Global Competitiveness of the U.S. Aviation Industry: Addressing Competition Issues to Maintain U.S. Leadership in the Aerospace Market | GAMA - General Aviation Manufacturers Association. N.p., 18 July 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. http://www.gama.aero/node/11517

Shankman, Samantha. "3 Biggest Challenges Facing the Global Aviation Industry." Skift. N.p., 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.  http://skift.com/2014/10/14/3-biggest-challenges-facing-the-global-aviation-industry/

"The FAA and Industry Guide to Product Certification." (2004): n. pag. AIA and GAMA, Sept. 2004. Web. 15 Mar. 2015. <https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/media/CPI_guide_II.pdf>.

Wang, Jasmine. "China Lures U.S. Pilots Tired of 14-Year Wait for Captain's Seat." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-02-27/china-lures-u-s-pilots-tired-of-14-year-wait-for-captain-s-seat>.