ATA Launches 'Smart Skies' Campaign

March 21, 2006

The Air Transport Association (ATA) announced a unified effort of its 19 member carriers to fund a next-generation air traffic control system as part of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) reauthorization. As part of the effort, ATA launched a national campaign: "Smart Skies: A blueprint for the future."

ATA member airlines collectively endorsed a statement of principles that called for a new cost-based approach to operate, maintain and modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The Smart Skies campaign is aimed at educating the public and lawmakers about the need to modernize the NAS and to work toward implementing a fair funding mechanism, ATA said.

In 2004, commercial aviation drove $1.2 trillion in economic activity, $380B in personal earnings and 11.4 million jobs, according to Campbell-Hill Aviation Group Chairman Dr. Brian Campbell, whose company released the Commercial Aviation and the American Economy report. The report summarized the estimated impact of commercial aviation on the U.S. economy in 2004, at state and congressional district levels.

In addition to continued general fund contributions, the ATA proposed that the new mechanism for operating, maintaining and modernizing the NAS must include 10 principles:

1. Congress must determine and impose a specific schedule of mandatory user charges linking system use with system costs that are fair, equitable and simple.
2. Each user category may rely on its preferred collection mechanism, as long as each such category does not impose any burden on commercial aviation that is not cost-based.
3. Existing aviation taxes should be transitioned to a metric to assess aircraft charges based on a percentage formula that incorporates only number of "departures" and "time in system." The departure charge may vary for nighttime operations and community size.
4. Revenue should be segregated from other government revenue and dedicated to airspace system operations, maintenance and enhancements.
5. Dedicated revenue should be allowed to be spent in a timely fashion for an intended purpose, without the need for additional congressional action.
6. A dedicated funding stream should support bond financing to ensure maximum leverage of available financial resources.
7. Administrative structure should be reformed to provide for a direct role in governance that is proportional to the extent of each user category's financial contribution to the operation, maintenance and enhancement of the national airspace system.
8. The ATO is granted autonomous authority to facilitate effective cost control and decision-making.
9. Piston-powered general aviation aircraft operators should continue to pay through their fuel tax mechanism.
10. Any new established FAA funding method should be fair and based on reasonable indicia of use of the aviation system, as obtained from a credible, reliable and transparent FAA cost-accounting system.

Source: Air Transport Association (ATA).