Mahalos for this. Do you mind sharing some thoughts on an independent airport authority over state management?
In Hawaii, our airports are shabbily operated by the state Dept of Transportation. There's been several pushes over the years to establish an independent airport authority instead since it would (or should) have a better set of incentives to run the airports better for all stakeholders. Thoughts on this? Are there pitfalls or common ways thus could go sideways?
This is a really interesting question! I would 100% agree that an independent airport authority would have a better set of incentives, which would likely result in more efficient airport management for both passengers and constituents. Performance at airports managed by independent authorities is typically much higher than those that are state managed, and I really don't see any pitfalls other than potentially not seeing as much growth as projected (not at the fault of the airport authority) and thus seeing some resultant unemployment. Your main barriers are probably just getting this past the general assembly as governments have an incentive to stay involved and keep their own people employed, even if your projections for growth and savings look very promising.
Hm, yeah, the interest group/union pressures often seem insurmountable in this state. Seems like another area where price theory/public choice really explains a lot but nobody with power wants to hear it. Either way, thanks for the thoughtful response.
Mahalos for this. Do you mind sharing some thoughts on an independent airport authority over state management?
In Hawaii, our airports are shabbily operated by the state Dept of Transportation. There's been several pushes over the years to establish an independent airport authority instead since it would (or should) have a better set of incentives to run the airports better for all stakeholders. Thoughts on this? Are there pitfalls or common ways thus could go sideways?
This is a really interesting question! I would 100% agree that an independent airport authority would have a better set of incentives, which would likely result in more efficient airport management for both passengers and constituents. Performance at airports managed by independent authorities is typically much higher than those that are state managed, and I really don't see any pitfalls other than potentially not seeing as much growth as projected (not at the fault of the airport authority) and thus seeing some resultant unemployment. Your main barriers are probably just getting this past the general assembly as governments have an incentive to stay involved and keep their own people employed, even if your projections for growth and savings look very promising.
Hm, yeah, the interest group/union pressures often seem insurmountable in this state. Seems like another area where price theory/public choice really explains a lot but nobody with power wants to hear it. Either way, thanks for the thoughtful response.