I'm here at the hotel near San Francisco International watching planes fly over the bay from the window. SFO is an interesting airport operationally since they typically land completely perpendicular to the departing traffic. This means that airplanes taking off share the same piece of pavement just a minute before a plane landing crosses that same spot going another direction. It's a little trippy to be rolling down the runway and look out my right window to see a 777 just 2 miles away heading straight for us. That being said, it works.
In LA, Phoenix, or Seattle, there an array of parallel runways which are dedicated to aircraft departing or arriving. At nighttime in LA, it is always impressive to see two lines of white lights extending to the horizon - each light representing an aircraft. On a clear night, you may see 16 or more. It is pretty fascinating to know that there are people who can organize flights coming in from Tokyo, Telluride, or Tucson, and have them all lined up with the proper spacing. I couldn't do that job. It seems... complicated.
Yes, complicated. And with that in mind, I thought I'd discuss my relatively apolitical thoughts in privatizing the ATC network. For some background, the FAA, a governmental group oversees almost all aspects of aviation operations from maintenance compliance to issuing pilot licenses to airport procedures and yes, air traffic control. Their official function is to "promote aviation and ensure safety." I have many issues with the FAA, and I also have issues with the current white house administration, so you can be assured a fair debate from me.
You may have read that privatizing ATC is nothing new, and over the last few decades has been proposed by both democrats and republicans. Trump argues that privatizing the industry will cut down on delays, save money, and modernize an aging infrastructure. In short, why would anyone not want this? Well, I did my homework. I would say I'm all for privatization if it makes sense. But in this specific scenario, I'm skeptical as to how privatizing alone will accomplish all those grandiose promises.
First off, the U.S. would not be the first country to privatize its air traffic control. Others have done it including our neighbor to the north - Canada. Trump used it as an example of a success story. So here's the difference. I looked it up and there are a total of 41 control towers for all of Canada. Maybe that seems like a lot, so allow me to list the airports in Southern California with control towers that I have personally landed at. Ready? Ok. Los Angeles International, Long Beach, Ontario, Burbank, Corona, Brackett, Chino, San Bernardino, John Wayne...
...Carlsbad, Camarillo, Oxnard, Brown Field, Lindbergh, Montgomery, Fullerton, Torrance, Hawthorne, Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Whiteman, Ramona, Riverside, El Monte, Victorville, Palm Springs, and THEN I have to pause to think if I'm missing anything. I think you get the idea. While it's good to look at what works in other countries, those success stories might not apply to the U.S., the largest and most complicated ATC network in the world. Now to address the modernization issues. Trump alleges that privatization somehow will reduce delays and allow more direct routes.
So here's the thing with that. While it is true that the U.S. system is based on ground installations as opposed to satellites, all modern airliners are GPS-enabled and most major airports already use GPS waypoints, ie imaginary fixes that can be flown to with the push of a button. If I wanted, I could even make up my own fix and call it MATZO and set it at 24000 feet. Then I could create another point 8 miles south of it called BALLZ at 19000 feet and make a note to be at 280 kts at that point. So whether or not a ground-based installation even works is irrelevant. Our aircraft can still go direct to any point in space the controller chooses.
"But I flew Spirit recently and was delayed!" Ok, so here's the deal. And this is not my opinion, it is based on the actual delay codes. By far, the biggest reason for delays is weather. Second is maintenance. And the promise of taking more direct routes is overstated. If you track the routes of any flights going across the U.S. you will note that they are pretty much straight lines except to go around weather or military airspace. So the saving time and fuel argument may be technically true, but grossly overstated.
"But I heard we are using paper strips to keep track of aircraft! That sounds real old!" I took this picture in the Long Beach tower about 4 years ago. Those are computers! And next to that ginger, are a few pieces of high-tech paper for notes. The aviation industry is odd like that. Gate agents furiously type into computers simply to print off a boarding pass. Dot matrix printers issue flight releases for the crew, who then board a multi-million dollar aircraft that is somehow capable of transporting people at great speeds around the globe. It may seem anachronistic, but it works. Any paper strips used by ATC are primarily a backup if the computers go down. As great as computers are, they are not fail-safe.
So what's your point, Brian? It is this. Give me a reason for privatization that is compelling and makes sense, and I'll be on board. Don't just say what people want to hear. In many ways it's like the guy who proposed circular, banked runways and said it would improve safety and cut down taxi times. And while the nice animation of an A380 landing at an angle on a circular runway may have looked sharp, it's completely impractical and from a pilot's perspective borderline insanity. 
"Privatizing ATC will make things cheaper!" Unlikely. Probably about the same if not worse. "No more delays!" Not unless you can control the weather, and since climate change is a Chinese hoax, we will just have to deal with it. #scienceburn "But the government can't do anything right!" Perhaps. I like the idea ofthe increased (at least in principle) stability that results from taking the budget away from children in D.C. who whine and shut down the government. I had a student who took an instrument pilot checkride during the last government shutdown. When I signed him off months later to take his commercial checkride, I had to meet with an FAA inspector in person just to get permission for my student to take the test since the previous paperwork had vanished from their records...
So as previously mentioned, I'm not happy with either side, but again, give me facts, not fantasy. Don't try and sell me a candy bar and tell me it cures cancer. Finally, none of the logistics have been discussed. How will this affect costs for the common private pilot and general aviation industry? Will all current controllers need retraining? Will they keep their jobs? For the most part I think they do a pretty solid job. That is except for the guy who works ground control at LAX and yells out, "5704 STANDBY! I'll contact you!" 10 minutes go by... "Who's at the top of Charlie Six?!" "Uh that'd be 5704." "Oh sorry, I forgot. You should have contacted me." Yeah, thanks for ghosting us, Chad. I actually have no idea what his name is, but he seems very Chad-like.
If this whole privatizing air traffic control thing does somehow go through, the traveling public wouldn't likely see any difference. The sort of worse-case scenario I can foresee is a poorly managed corporation that then needs bailing out by the government. If you have ever rode Amtrak, you have some idea how that might play out. And if you want my really honest opinion, here it is. Privatized or not, we will adapt in the industry. However, when Trump was gearing up for infrastructure week, I thought we were going to invest in our bridges, highways, and airport terminals. That I can get behind. Improving rail travel in the U.S. wouldn't have been a bad idea either. He picked literally the most complicated thing. Trump needs to think small and perhaps fill some potholes before he takes on ATC.