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President Trump announced tonight that he is nominating Bryan Bedford (the current CEO of Republic Airways) to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If confirmed, Bedford will lead the agency that oversees aviation safety and air traffic control in the United States.
Excellent choice, President Trump!
With decades of experience in the airline sector, Bryan understands the need for swift, bold action to enhance the safety over our skies.
Let’s get him confirmed ASAP! There is no time to waste when it comes to building an all-new,… pic.twitter.com/gxkqgq6LUo
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 17, 2025
Bedford has served as the CEO of the Indiana-based regional airline known as Republic Airways since 2007. The airline has a fleet that has grown to more than 200 Embraer aircraft under his leadership. Republic Airways operates around 900 daily regional flights under the American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express brands.
Before his role as CEO of Republic, Bedford led Mesaba Airlines and Business Express Airlines. He is also a licensed pilot.
Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO of Airlines for America, said:
President Trump made a superb choice in nominating Bryan Bedford to be FAA Administrator. Mr. Bedford has decades of experience in aviation operations, and he leads with a commitment to safety above all else. He intimately understands the importance of a strong working relationship between the FAA and air space operators of all sizes. His leadership at Republic Airways has transformed the company into the flourishing operation it is today, supporting several of A4A’s member carriers. We know Mr. Bedford will work closely with Secretary Duffy to transform America’s aging air traffic control systems, including technology, infrastructure and staffing. We urge the Senate to expeditiously confirm his nomination.”
I’m happy to see someone nominated who seems to be qualified, will know the difficulties currently faced with air traffic control, and will hopefully have some ideas on how to fix these issues. This includes hiring more air traffic controllers, enhancing safety measures, and updating the antiquated facilities across the country. The FAA has been under scrutiny since the late-January crash in Washington DC that took 67 lives after a regional CRJ-700 jet operating as American Eagle collided with a helicopter.
Senate Democrats might take issue with his confirmation as Politico reports that Republic Airways (led by Bedford) in 2022 “sought an exception to the FAA rule requiring commercial airline pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight time. Republic argued that pilots who go through training at the company’s flight academy should be able to qualify with about half of those hours, saying it would be just as safe and also help ease what regional airlines have argued is a shortage of pilots. The FAA denied the airline’s request, saying it could harm safety.”
Anthony’s Take: Bedford seems qualified for the role. His experience as an airline CEO and commercial pilot should give him good perspective on what is needed from the FAA going forward.
(Featured Image Credit: Republic Airways.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
