Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 3, 1995 TAG: 9510030054
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
As Baliles spoke, a major Midwestern control center blacked out. Hundreds of flights were delayed as controllers struggled to bring aging and unreliable equipment back on line.
Baliles, 55, might not always be quite that timely or prescient when he speaks about aviation. But his expertise has impressed many in the industry, even hardened types inclined to mistrust politicians.
In the five years since he left the governor's office, Baliles has emerged as one of the nation's leading authorities on aviation, a go-to man for tackling some of the industry's thorniest problems.
``He's one of the most impressive people I've met,'' said Charles Barclay, president of the American Association of Airport Executives. ``I've been around a long, long time, and I'm not easily impressed.''
Barclay served with Baliles on a national commission appointed by President Clinton in 1993 to find ways of bringing airlines out of the tailspin that had seen them lose $10 billion in the previous four years. Baliles was chairman.
Last winter, when talks between Arlington-based USAir and its pilots' union stalled over pay cuts the airline said it needed to stay in business, the U.S. Department of Transportation asked Baliles to step in. Although the airline and its workers failed to reach agreements on concessions this summer, Baliles fulfilled his mandate to get pilots and management together.
His reputation as a serious problem-solver has extended internationally. Governments in Europe and the Middle East have sought his advice in beefing up their aviation industries.
This month, Baliles will go to Poland to give the keynote address at a conference aimed at improving airline service in Eastern Europe.
As governor, Baliles made transportation a major focus of his administration. He pushed for more funds for the Port of Hampton Roads, which passed Baltimore in business during his administration. His initiatives also led to the creation of the commonwealth's Transportation Trust Fund, which ensured dedicated funding for highways, airports, shipping ports and public transit.
Roanoke Regional Airport benefited from Baliles' efforts. It draws both entitlement funds and, in certain cases, discretionary funds from the trust fund. The airport's share in the 1995-96 fiscal year is $719,742, according to airport commission spokesman Mark Courtney.
The state funds have helped fill the gap as federal funding has been cut back, Courtney said. "The state contributed extensively through that fund for the new terminal here," he said.
To find the roots of Baliles' interest in transportation, you need to go back before the Executive Mansion, all the way to rural Patrick County, where he grew up.
Raised by grandparents after his parents' divorce, Baliles read as often as possible.
``For me, books and airplanes were windows on the world,'' he said. ``I read history and geography. I was always fascinated by great cities of the past, centered along trade routes, commercial sea ports. Tales of Marco Polo and the silk route would send me to maps looking to locate those places.''
Baliles' grandfather, a farmer, often repeated a saying to the youngster: ``If you don't know where you're going, all roads will take you there.''
His grandfather was referring to the importance of focus, purpose and planning. But to Baliles, the saying had a more romantic appeal, something about the way roads take you to far-off, unknown places.
When he was governor, Baliles' interest in flying took on a more pragmatic flavor. In office from 1986 to 1990, Baliles helped orchestrate the transfer of Virginia's two largest airports, Washington National and Washington Dulles International, away from federal control in 1986.
He appointed Virginia's first members to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the regional body formed to run the airports. Baliles still serves on a task force of business and government leaders supporting the facilities.
His common-sense approach, while contributing to a somewhat prosaic public image, stood Baliles well in 1993 when he took the helm of the airline commission.
It was an impossible task. At least that's what some members of the commission thought. The fractious panel included labor leaders, top executives, financiers, academicians and bureaucrats.
``There were no shrinking violets,'' said Barclay, of the airport executives group. ``The airline industry was in the tank, and everybody had different theories on how to fix it ... Anarchy was definitely one of the possibilities.''
Against the odds, the report was finished on schedule. Not only that, it earned high marks for being clear, readable and concise. It offered a history of the airline industry and specific recommendations on how to fix it.
The least shrinking among the commission's violets was Herbert D. Kelleher, chief executive of Southwest Airlines.
Kelleher and Baliles earned undergraduate degrees from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Other than that, they seem opposites. Kelleher, star of TV commercials touting his low-fare airline, is loud, ebullient and uproarious, while Baliles is staid, reserved and serious.
But Baliles' management style left Kelleher ``simply astounded,'' the Southwest Airlines executive said. ``He had typical Virginia civility, but at the same time, in a civil way, got things moving and got things done ... He's an intellectual. He understands issues. [But] he can be very pragmatic when he needs to be.''
by CNB