We now have a new head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which I’d consider to be good news, as there’s lots of work to be done.
Senate confirms Bryan Bedford as FAA Administrator
In March 2025, President Trump nominated Bryan Bedford as the new FAA Administrator. He has today been confirmed by the Senate, in a 53-43 vote, so he’ll now serve a five-year term.
For some background, while the term for the FAA Administrator usually lasts for five years, previous Administrator Mike Whitaker resigned on January 20, 2025, the same day that Trump took office. He had only assumed the role in late 2023, and clearly left (or was pushed out) for political reasons. Historically, the position of FAA Administrator had been pretty insulated from partisan politics, but I guess that changed.
Bedford has been in the industry for a long time, with over 30 years of experience. He had been CEO at Republic Airways for over 25 years, since 1999, before resigning several weeks back, presumably in anticipation of this job. For those not familiar, Republic is a regional airline, which operates flights on behalf of the “big three” US carriers.
While not of any consequence (at least to me), in 2010, Bedford was CEO of Frontier Airlines (when Republic purchased Frontier in bankruptcy), and appeared on Undercover Boss. Perhaps his reality TV experience was another reason he connected with Trump.
Why Bedford has proven to be a controversial pick
As mentioned above, historically the role of FAA Administrator hasn’t been partisan. For example, Biden’s appointee was confirmed by the Senate in a 98-0 vote. So by comparison, the 53-43 vote is much more partisan than we’re used to for this position.
On one end of the spectrum, you have some Republican Senators praising him for being an accomplished aviation leader who will bring expertise and common sense to his role…
…and on the other end of the spectrum, you have some Democratic Senators claiming he won’t put the safety of airline passengers over profits, and has shown a callous disregard for safety protocols.
The main controversy surrounding Bedford has involved his opposition to the 1,500-hour pilot rule, as he pushed for that to be eased while CEO of Republic. This has made him quite unpopular with pilots and the unions representing pilots, since it’s in their best interest to keep the requirements to be pilots high, so they can negotiate better contracts.
Personally, I’m with Bedford on this. In my opinion, the 1,500-hour rule was a bizarre response to the 2009 Colgan Air crash, where both pilots actually had more than 1,500 hours of experience. I also haven’t seen any data to show that the 1,500-hour rule makes our skies safer.
Pilots all over Europe get into flight decks with a lot fewer hours than that, and I don’t think anyone can argue that European skies are somehow less safe than American skies (though if there’s any data I’m missing, I’m always open to evolving!). Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.
I’m just happy to see that there’s once again someone leading the FAA, because this is a time where we need leadership for our aviation ecosystem. In theory, we’re supposed to see a modernization of our air traffic control system, and having an actual person leading the FAA is a key piece to that puzzle.
So congrats to Bedford, and as has been the precedent with FAA Administrators for decades, I hope he can be bipartisan and work toward solutions that make our air travel as safe and smooth as possible.
Bottom line
Bryan Bedford has been confirmed as the new FAA Administrator, after a 53-43 Senate vote. Trump’s pick will now serve a five-year term, and certainly has his work cut out for him. He has proven to be a controversial pick, mainly due to his take opposition to the 1,500-hour rule. I’m happy to see that we once again have someone leading the FAA, since that kind of seems like an important job.
What do you make of Bedford becoming the new FAA Administrator?
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