Canada's private air-traffic system

See Nav Canada Draws Interest in U.S: Northern air-traffic system is attracting attention as model for U.S. privatization fans by Susan Carey of the WSJ. Excerpts:

"It is an appealing story: Nav Canada operates through user fees that Mr. Crichton says are 35% lower than the government formerly levied in ticket taxes, not adjusted for inflation. The operation is safer while handling more traffic with fewer people, he says. It can sell bonds to fund upgrades, unlike the FAA, and airlines save fuel through more efficient altitudes and routes, Nav Canada says."

"About two dozen nations in the past two decades have created state-backed corporations or public-private partnerships to take air-navigation control from government bureaucracies.

The foremost concern in such changes is maintaining flight safety. Auditors from the Transportation Department’s Office of the Inspector General recently visited four overseas air-navigation providers and concluded that “separating air navigation and safety/regulatory functions has not impacted safety” in Canada, France, Germany and the U.K.

Mr. Crichton says Nav Canada has cut the rate of loss of separation—a key risk indicator that measures how often planes get too close—to under 0.8 per 100,000 flights last year from more than 1.4 when the government was still running things."

"Nav Canada has brought in-house much of the engineering and software development previously done by contractors, which has helped cut costs while freeing it to launch new products and services. Sid Koslow, chief technology officer, said Nav Canada doesn’t favor expensive, “big bang” projects like the FAA’s NextGen. But it has widely rolled out some technology the U.S. doesn’t yet have, such as data communications between pilots and controllers, or isn’t finishing installing, such as automated air-traffic management systems at all of its facilities.

It also is trying to capture revenue for its know-how. Nav Canada has sold its tower automation system to eight Australian airports. It developed a Web-based viewer that monitors airport activity and helps airports and airlines avoid congestion. And it owns 51% of a company that plans to launch satellite-based air-traffic surveillance covering the planet. Nav Canada and its partners will sell those signals to other air-navigation service providers."