Funding
Planning and implementing NextGen is being carried out by a public-private partnership called the Joint Planning and Development Office, which is made up of representatives from the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, the FAA, NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy along with support from the private sector. Over the next five years, the FAA’s investment portfolio for NextGen will require an estimated $4.6 billion, the agency says. That total is made up of $4.3 billion in air traffic organization capital and $300 million in research. These funds are provided in the fiscal year 2008 budget, but based on the current NextGen plan, major investments also will need to be made beginning in fiscal year 2013 and running through fiscal year 2017. Total FAA spending over the first 10 years of the program is expected to range from $8 billion to $10 billion, and estimates through 2025 range from $15 billion to $22 billion in FAA investments, the agency says.
The NextGen Financing Reform Act of 2007 has yet to be fully funded, but if enacted, it will provide up to $5 billion in debt financing authority beginning in fiscal year 2013 to support NextGen-related capital needs and accelerate the transition to NextGen. The FAA has proposed a hybrid funding structure with three funding sources for FAA services: fees for air traffic and certification services, taxes and the general fund.
The other potential funding issue will come from the airlines, which will need to upgrade equipment on their aircraft but are reporting larger and larger losses as the cost of fuel shoots up. "The problem is will the airlines equip now for ADS-B, and do they think that it is the solution? I do not believe that they are convinced yet," says Peter Dumont, president of the Air Traffic Control Association. "What are the motivators to equip? You get faster times if more of your company’s aircraft are going into an airport because you are equipped? And those are the problems. Until the airlines buy into ADS-B solution, and they see a motivation, attachment or an incentive, they will not voluntarily equip."
Holding Mode?
ADS-B is not in a concept stage. It is a mature technology that has been used in the United States and in Australia. "There is a worldwide movement towards ADS-B, and there are a lot of airplanes that will need to be equipped. I would say that there is a substantial demand," says Jackson.
However, with funding not yet certain, the FAA vision of a satellite-based air traffic management system is in a holding pattern. "NextGen is a strategic program for the FAA and also for Congress," says Whitman. "The basic value of the program is solid. It provides increased traffic and saves fuel. All the studies show that the U.S. air space capacity will be extremely strained in the next six to seven years unless something is done."
The satellite industry, airline industry, manufacturers, pilots, the FAA and other stakeholders all have an interest in making NextGen a reality, but it looks like the economy may take a bite out of the vision of an aviation superhighway controlled by satellites.
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