The President and flight delays (Winging It)

The President and flight delays

Even the White House recoginizes airline flight delays as a growing problem. Read more in today's Road Warrior column.

Posted by Tom Belden on October 1, 2007 9:19 AM | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blogs.phillynews.com/inquirer/mt-tb-trythis.cgi/3399.

Comments (1)

JFSN:

Well, it wasn't a matter of 'if', it was a matter of 'when'. When would the politicos wake up to a slow news day and have their admins bring in the manila file brimming with constituent emails about the fine mess of the aviation industry in America? One after the other the emails describe delayed or missed flights; encounters with surly airline personnel; mishandled, lost or rifled baggage; interminable taxiway delays, ad infinitum.

Okay, the time to act is upon us - Act I. The politicians draft an impassioned speech to placate the concerns of the 'base' by calling for the creation of a new government agency to think big thoughts (out of the box stuff) and deliver new procedures to guard the rights of the public's flying experience. Then, deliver the speech to an empty Senate or House chamber remembering to never look directly at the C-span camera on the wall while orating.

Okay, the time to act is upon us - Act II. A consultant 'between engagements' watches C-span3 at the Front Page on New Hampshire Avenue and decides to draft an eighty-six page unsolicited proposal promising to cure everything that ails the airline industry so long as the government sends a check, by return surface mail, to cover the cost of the eighty-six page proposal followed by a contract carry out an exhaustive feasibility study- rates attached thereto. The answer to the puzzle will be, of course, a 'solution' containing a healthy dose of un-proven, or yet-to-be-written software packages (it's mostly the same thing in that line of business) crafted by subject matter experts and other lanyard-enobled-do-nothings who pad the carpeted hallways of Class A office campuses in Fairfax county, Virginia.

Okay, the time to act is upon us - Act III. Years have passed without relief of the suffrage of the flying public; the 'solution' did not work; the consultant is back at the Front Page watching C-span and the politician left office to spend more time with his family.

Given this scenario, I would humbly offer that someone in charge of something somewhere dust off Tom McCabe's theories of Cyclomatic Complexity which assess the soundness of systems when more interfaces (flights) are added to that system. In short, as the number of flights increases, there will come a time when the system can no longer function in a managed environment and all the impassioned speeches and technology 'solutions' will never overcome that.

Train travel, anyone?

Posted by JFSN | October 4, 2007 11:06 AM

Posted on October 4, 2007 11:06

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Philly.com discussions are intended to be civil, friendly conversations. Please treat other participants with respect and in a way that you would want to be treated. You are responsible for what you say. And please, stay on topic.

These boards are monitored by Philly.com staff. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us in our sole discretion and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Personal attacks, especially on other board participants, are not permitted. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.

About