Key Personnel Todd
Homan,
Director OFFICE
FUNCTION
OFFICE MISSION: The Office of Aviation Analysis, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, initiates and supports the development of the Department of Transportation’s public policies regarding the airline industry in both domestic and international markets. The Office has the responsibility to analyze and support the Department’s decision makers on major airline issues, including airline mergers and acquisitions, domestic and international code-share alliances and other joint venture agreements, immunized international alliances between U.S. and foreign carriers, airline distribution practices, airline strike and bankruptcy issues, and airline service at small communities. In addition, the Office administers several important aviation regulatory programs, including the initial and continuing fitness of commercial airlines to serve the public, subsidy and grant programs for air service to small communities, access to slot-controlled airports, and the setting of mail rates within Alaska and in international markets. KEY OFFICE FUNCTIONS:
The
Essential Air Service and Domestic Analysis Division has a number
of regulatory and advisory responsibilities. The Division administers
the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which guarantees that
hundreds of small communities throughout the country receive air
service to connect them to the National air transportation system.
This involves a determination as to how many flights should be
provided at the community, the type aircraft to be used, the carrier
that should provide the service, and the level of subsidy that
the Federal Government will pay the air carrier providing the
community's air service. Division analysts negotiate the subsidy
need for each applicant carrier before recommending to Department
decision makers which carrier should be selected for the EAS subsidized
service. The Division works with a budget of over $100 million
for this program.
The
Division also administers the Department's responsibility
for air carrier access to certain airports where airline operations
are limited. Certain airports in the United States are so
congested that the U.S. Government controls not only the number
of take-offs and landings (slots) that can operated each day,
but also the number of flights that can be operated each hour
at the airport. For the most, part the Federal Aviation Administration
is responsible for distribution of the available slots at
these airports. Exemptions from the slot restrictions to provide
additional access to the slot-controlled airports are the
responsibility of the Department of Transportation.
The Essential Air Service and slot allocation responsibilities
involve considerable contact with Capitol Hill and the Federal
Aviation Administration, as well as numerous industry organizations.
In addition, the Division is responsible for establishing the rates that the U.S. Postal Service pays airlines to carry mail within the State of Alaska and in international markets. This function requires analysis of detailed revenue, costing, and traffic data and close coordination and interaction with the U.S. Postal Service. The
Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program, a $20 million
grant program designed to help small communities address air service
and airfare issues, is managed by the one of the Office's Associate
Directors. Unlike the EAS program, the financial assistance available
under the Pilot Program is not limited to air carrier subsidy. It
can involve, among others, financial assistance for marketing programs,
additional personnel, studies, and aircraft acquisitions. Administration
of the program draws upon the Chief and analysts from the EAS and
Domestic Analysis Division for analysis of the air carrier operating
arrangements proposed in the grant requests. These responsibilities
involve considerable contact with Capitol Hill and industry organizations.
The
Competition and Policy Analysis Division is responsible for providing
short-, medium, and long-term views of the U.S. aviation industry's
operating and competitive structures. It is also responsible for monitoring
major economic aspects of the airline industry, providing regular
reports and analyses of airline traffic, fares, costs, capacity, and
financial conditions. These responsibilities involve the analysis
of historical data as well as the development and use of forecasting
models to project the competitive and structural effects of changes
on airline services and fares from mergers, alliances, code sharing
and other cooperative arrangements among airlines, as well as bankruptcies.
In addition, the Division conducts studies of industry trends and
developments relevant to the Department's industry oversight responsibilities.
These reports, studies, and analyses are the bases on which the Office
develops its recommendations to the Assistant Secretary and the Secretary
on airline domestic and international economic issues as well as speeches
and congressional testimony by Department officials.
The Division also provides extensive analytical support and advice to Department decision makers with respect to specific cases and matters before the Department, including airline mergers and alliances, selection of U.S. carriers in international route authority selection cases, and antitrust immunity cases. The
analytical and advisory functions of the Division frequently involve
interaction with Capitol Hill, other U.S. Government agencies, including
the Departments of Justice, State, and Commerce, and the transportation
and competition authorities of foreign governments.
The Air Carrier Fitness Division analyzes and evaluates all applications for new economic authority to determine if the airline applicant is "fit, willing, and able" to conduct commercial airline operations and that the applicants are U.S. citizens as defined by the transportation statute. This involves analysis of the applicant's managerial capabilities and experience, the financial resources available for the proposed operations, its service plan, and the ability of the management personnel to comply with U.S. laws, as well as the ownership of the applicant. The Division also monitors on a regular basis the operations and financial conditions of all licensed U.S. airlines to ensure that they continue to be fit to hold their operating authority and to serve the U.S. public. Division analysts work closely with the Department's Office of Consumer Affairs and the Federal Aviation Administration, which is responsible for the safety oversight and licensing of U.S. airlines.
Revised
on
July 14, 2008
Content provided by Randall Bennett, Director (202) 366-5903 |