James C. May is president and chief executive officer of the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (ATA) – the nation’s oldest and largest airline trade association. May joined ATA in February 2003, and has led the association through an especially challenging time in its history.
Under his leadership, the association and its member airlines have worked diligently in a unified effort to:
continue to provide the world’s safest form of transportation through a disciplined, analytical approach
illuminate the value of the airlines’ contribution to global, national and local economic well-being
modernize the nation’s antiquated air traffic control system and funding structure
implement meaningful solutions to address increasing airport and airspace congestion and enhance customer service
ensure robust aviation security while maintaining the smooth flow of commerce and minimizing inconvenience to passengers and shippers
emphasize the airlines’ outstanding record of environmental stewardship and proactive commitment to further improve environmental performance
open and expand dialogue with Congress and the administration
Prior to joining ATA, May served as executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); vice president, public affairs for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York; directed government relations for PepsiCo, Inc; and served as vice president, public affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc.
May currently serves as co-chair of the NextGen Institute Management Council; as a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for the Hollings Cancer Center; and as a trustee for the United States Capitol Historical Society. As a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, May commanded an infantry company in Vietnam.
Sept. 11, 2001 marked a significant change in the way the American people think about security in a complex world. One of the most publicly visible areas of change, of course, is the government’s assuming its proper role as the leader and director of a multi-layered, all encompassing, aviation-security program, which constantly adapts to meet a changing situation. This, of course, includes the obvious passenger, baggage and cargo screening programs, but also runs far deeper and wider to include a vast array of activities designed to "harden" targets, and to both understand and deter the nature of the threats we… Read more
ATA commends the Senate Commerce Committee for its hard work in drafting the FAA reauthorization bill – this far-reaching and important legislation is significantly better for passengers and the aviation system than the House bill, for several reasons. The Senate bill takes positive steps to expedite modernization of the ATC system and reasonably addresses several safety-related areas, including FAA deadlines for RNP/RNAV procedures at major airports, a study of flight and duty time, and establishment of a system for inspection of foreign repair stations. Just as importantly, the Senate bill does not include two harmful House bill provisions: an antitrust… Read more
There is nothing more important to the airline industry than the safety of our passengers and crews. The airlines and their employees, complemented by many other professionals, have achieved an extraordinary safety record. They accomplish this not only by analyzing past events and determining what went wrong but, as we see more and more, by rigorous analysis of the massive amount of data the industry collects to identify potential problems and take corrective action before there is a chance of a fatal error. This type of disciplined, analytical approach to improving safety performance is basic to the culture of a… Read more
“The Air Transport Association has said for decades (including with regard to the proposed Midway deal) that if there is a strong business case for any airport privatization that makes economic sense to airlines and their customers, we are interested. The negotiations that led to the Midway plan are testimony to that commitment. It is unfortunate that the unforeseeable turn in the broader economy caused the plan to collapse, but airlines remain interested in future proposals that make sense economically.”… Read more
While the Air Transport Association (ATA) and our airlines are strong supporters of improved greenhouse gas (GHG) efficiency and have an exceptional track record to back that up, we have grave concerns about the application of one-size-fits-all cap-and-trade legislation to airlines. Such legislation – including that proposed in the Waxman-Markey Discussion Draft – would operate as an additional tax on aviation, siphoning away the very funds that the airlines need to invest in new aircraft and other advances that have allowed the U.S. airlines to improve their fuel and GHG efficiency by 110 percent since 1978. The purpose behind “market-based… Read more
HR 831’s approach to antitrust immunity is absolutely the wrong way to go. It will harm airline service, consumers and employees, as well as cause a negative ripple across the travel and tourism industry at a time when the U.S. economy is already suffering. The best way for U.S. airlines to flourish (and not simply become a feeder service to foreign carriers) is with less government intervention in the airline business, not more. Based on airline member data, ATA estimates that this legislation could cost as many as 15,000 airline jobs. In the absence of antitrust immunity, numerous routes and… Read more
Commercial aviation contributes in excess of $1.1 trillion to our nation’s economic activity and 10.2 million domestic jobs, and enables the global economy to function efficiently. In order to maintain this critical role, the details of the complete budget must: Assure expedited deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) – a modern, satellite-based air traffic management system – that will enable air transportation to grow safely and efficiently with corresponding improvements in fuel efficiency and reductions in emissions. Adopt creative financing concepts – such as bonding authority – that bypass the vagaries of the annual appropriations process and… Read more
Most of us agree on the urgency to respond to President Obama’s call for cooperation to solve the many pressing challenges our country faces, including the challenges posed by climate change. In fact, the airlines have long been addressing that challenge and are implementing measures to continue greenhouse gas efficiency gains on a going-forward basis. For example, the U.S. airlines improved their fuel efficiency – and hence, their greenhouse gas efficiency – by 110 percent between 1978 and 2007, saving over 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), roughly equivalent to taking 18.7 million cars off the road each… Read more
Mr. Roth, As proposed by the former DOT secretary, slot auctions would, on their face, add to customer costs and not reduce congestion. Because of the complex historic financial relationships between airlines, airports and the federal government, we see no other outcome. As a constructive alternative, we did suggest reliance upon well established Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines (used to allocate slots globally, except in the United States), but DOT rejected those in favor testing its auction theory. As I noted initially, in our view, this experiment belongs in the regulatory scrapheap.… Read more
Mr. Roth, let’s be clear, the past administration’s claim that slot auctions would reduce congestion was a red herring – that does nothing for congestion reduction. It is the cap on operations (which forces the creation of slots) that controls congestion. Auctions are merely one way to reallocate slots. The best way to reduce delays/fuel burn and help grow the economy is to modernize the air traffic control system. In 2006, U.S. commercial aviation contributed almost $700 billion to our GDP, directly and indirectly supporting 10.2 million U.S. jobs; in 2007, airlines and their passengers paid more than $12 billion… Read more
A DOT program that we believe should be on the chopping block is New York slot auctions. We agree wholeheartedly with DOT Secretary LaHood that auctioning slots does not make sense as a tool to address congestion. We said from the beginning that FAA lacks the authority to issue these rules -- they should now be withdrawn to avoid further litigation expense for all parties. We continue to fully support acceleration of NextGen funding as part of the economic stimulus bill – it an important infrastructure project that will generate 77,000 jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft by up… Read more
We are very disappointed that the House missed a real opportunity to make the necessary investments in air and ground infrastructure to create jobs and better serve our passengers. This critical investment not only would create new jobs, but also would promote clean energy technology, enhance safety and security capabilities, improve operational performance and reduce FAA operating costs to help stimulate our ailing economy. We will continue to encourage Congress to make the investment in the modernization of our nation’s air traffic control system to jump start these significantly important programs and their benefits.… Read more
Energy price volatility plays havoc with the nation’s and the world’s economies. Airlines are particularly impacted by that volatility – with the most recent run-up in prices producing multibillion dollar losses. Obviously, we all want to work to reduce that volatility with prudent policies and investments to conserve energy supplies, while reducing environmental emissions and simultaneously assuring a reliable supply of fuel consistent with the needs of the economy. In striving to reach those mutual goals, the U.S. airlines have established a tremendous fuel efficiency record with an improvement of 110 percent between 1978 and 2007. The ATA airlines are… Read more
As I have said before, Congressman LaHood has a well-deserved reputation for his even-handed, thoughtful and deliberative approach to complex issues. I certainly have every reason to believe that he will be confirmed. At that time, we will support the Secretary in his efforts to address transportation issues that are critical to the revitalization of the nation’s economy and the millions of people who fly and ship on our nation’s airlines. I believe that his most pressing challenge will be the expeditious modernization of our aviation infrastructure. The inefficient operation of our outdated air traffic control system results in… Read more
Commercial aviation is a vital component of the economic energy of the United States. It is the nation’s circulatory system and is absolutely linked to a strong economy. According to recent Federal Aviation Administration data (2006), commercial aviation drives 5.2 percent of GDP and it ultimately supports more than 10 million jobs. Because of the fuel price situation of this past year, the airlines have taken the difficult steps to adjust their business models and are as well positioned as they can be to deal with the economic turbulence we are all experiencing. The airlines are not approaching the idea… Read more
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