In her first major speech as FAA administrator, at the Aero Club in Washington in February 2003, Blakey announced what she called the “customer service initiative.” It was a breathtaking shift in emphasis. She said the FAA needed to be more responsive to its customers—by which she meant manufacturers and airlines, not the flying public. She expressed sympathy for the inconsistent answers and long waits they sometimes experienced—as if the country’s top aviation authority was some kind of corporate call center—without mentioning the funding shortfalls that had starved it of resources.
