Say goodbye to Federico Peña. The US transportation secretary is scheduled not to be invited back onto the president's cabinet, assuming the Clinton Administration wins another four years in office. Despite his much applauded efforts in the liberalisation of international aviation, Peña's continued gaffes - such as supporting ValuJet the day after Flight 592 crashed into Florida's Everglades on 11 May - persuade most presidential watchers to suggest he will be the first casualty of a new administration.
Even though most airline industry officials in Washington are uncharitable to Peña, it would be wrong to argue that his administration of the DOT was unproductive for US airlines.
Under his guidance, the process of establishing open skies begun during the Bush administration was put into high gear. Canada, Germany, the so-called G9 group of European countries, the Czech Republic and, most recently, Jordan (yes, Jordan) have entered into various stages of liberalisation with the US.
These agreements were partly the result of globalisation. But they also flowed from the International Aviation Policy Statement Peña shepherded into existence in late 1994. This was the first such official statement DOT put out in 15 years, and a firm answer to critics who complained of 'ad-hocism' over decisions on international aviation.
Peña, however, neglected other transportation sectors and arguably became so enchanted with his international successes that he forgot his most important role: caretaker of the domestic aviation system. For example, Peña leaves behind an anachronistic air traffic control system that he tried to reform, but with little success.
In many respects, Peña's record reads of things that might have been. If only he could have been more politically savvy, he could have been more effective in negotiating the first two years in office, when a hostile Congress did its best to micromanage his department. If only he could have been more self-aware, he might have avoided the ValuJet affair, which was less a problem of safety audits gone awry than of a politician unable to manage bad PR.
Mead Jennings
Source: Airline Business
