Things in the Sky

I’m currently on vacation, but I’ve asked a few friends of mine to write some guest posts for while I’m gone. Evan Sparks, who writes a fantastic blog on aviation policy, was kind enough to write a post for today.

Outside of government agencies, the federal Fly America Act is little known. But it’s a very consequential set of rules for federal workers in Washington, D.C., and the airlines and airports that serve them. The act (whose rules are explained in great detail here) requires federal employees or contractors to use U.S. flag carriers for all official business unless using a U.S. flag carrier would extend travel time by more than 24 hours, wait more than six hours at an overseas transfer airport, require two or more layovers more than a foreign carrier’s itinerary, or other similar requirements. Flying on a foreign carrier is permitted as long as a U.S. carrier is codesharing that flight; Lufthansa, for example, has a handout on how the Fly America requirements apply to it.

The Fly America Act is minor payback to U.S. airlines for their participation in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a military program through which U.S. carriers would contribute aircraft for transport in emergencies. But the way I see it, it’s a bigger payback to some airlines than to others. United Airlines, through its hub at Washington’s Dulles airport, stands to capture most of the benefits of the Fly America Act. The greater Washington area is home to more than 16 percent of civilian, non-Postal Service, federal employees, and Dulles is the only airport in the area with significant international service. United serves at last count twenty-six foreign destinations on four continents from Dulles and codeshares with Star Alliance partners to destinations radiating from their hubs in Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore, and elsewhere. Almost all other international service to Washington-area airports is under foreign flag carriers. This gives United an automatic advantage.

Dulles is located way out (to me, anyway; I live in the District of Columbia) in the Virginia exurbs. It’s not very convenient for people who live in the District or the Maryland suburbs. Tim Campbell, the head of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, recently said at a press conference that more federal employees live in Maryland than Virginia and would find BWI a more attractive travel option, but there’s no competition there. Is Fly America unfairly tilted toward United and Dulles? George Mason University econ professor Don Boudreaux says it’s tilted unfairly toward American carriers. “I applaud your brilliant scheme!” he comments with tongue in cheek. “Even if it costs taxpayers more money, obviously this Act helps to protect American carriers from the nefarious competition of foreign airlines.”

Even if the Fly America Act is on the margins of aviation discourse, it is worth considering whether it’s fair to all U.S. airlines or fair to the taxpayers.

Evan Sparks writes about aviation policy from Washington at EvanSparks.com.