Randy Babbitt, a prominent aviation consultant and former head of the largest U.S. commercial-pilot union, is expected to be nominated as the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration, according to industry officials and others familiar with the matter.
Mr. Babbitt served as president of the Air Line Pilots Association during much of the 1990s, set up his own advisory firm and then merged it with the larger consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Emerging as a compromise FAA administrator candidate acceptable to both labor leaders and airline officials, Mr. Babbitt's toughest challenges are likely to be negotiating a new pact with the nation's air-traffic controllers, and finding ways to finance a new satellite-based navigation system designed to increase capacity and safety for airliners and other aircraft.
Other difficult issues on his desk will be restoring congressional and public trust in a sprawling agency that was embroiled in controversy last year over maintenance lapses by a number of carriers and improperly close ties between some FAA inspectors and airline managers.
An announcement could come later Tuesday. The White House initially offered Mr, Babbitt the job weeks ago, according to people familiar with the details, pending background and financial checks. An announcement had been tentatively scheduled for next week, but the recent spate of high-profile aircraft accidents apparently prompted the Obama administration to speed up the timing.
The FAA has been run by an acting administrator since September 2007, when Senate Democrats blocked the nomination of then-President George W. Bush's choice for a permanent head.
The expected nomination comes amid increasing frustration by lawmakers, including some veteran House Democrats, over delays in picking the next FAA head. Persistent labor-management problems have sapped morale and, according to some FAA critics, reduced safety margins in the nation's air-traffic-control system. At the same time, pilot-union leaders continue to prod the FAA to issue updated rules to reduce cockpit fatigue, particularly on long international routes. But these and other issues have basically stalled as White House officials mulled whether to nominate Mr. Babbitt.
Mr. Babbitt is currently a partner in the aviation practice at Oliver Wyman Group, a management-consulting firm owned by New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. An Oliver Wyman spokesman declined to comment.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123790805538625971.html
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