JetBlue Hysteria Obscures Bigger Aviation Issues

“It’s not sexy, but it’s got teeth.”

That’s how Tom Cruise justifies mail fraud charges against “The Firm” to Ed Harris. In real life, it’s the philosophy that let the feds get Al Capone for tax evasion. And as local debate continues over a proposed new terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport, and the media, Congress and public interest groups gnash their collective teeth over a “Passenger Bill of Rights,” it also describes the legislation that already sits on Capitol Hill – but lies mostly obscured by the fallout from the JetBlue Valentine’s Day Massacre.

It’s the Next Generation Air Transportation System Financing Reform Act of 2007, issued by the Bush Administration, ironically, on the same day JetBlue’s woes and CNN’s hyperventilating began. While it doesn’t appear to be meeting Congressional resistance, “NextGen” holds the key to addressing many of the ills currently plaguing the airline industry, both here and throughout the United States.

Put simply, NextGen will convert the nation’s air traffic control system from a ground-based to a satellite-based technology, and realign the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding stream by eliminating the domestic passenger ticket tax and installing a cost-based system. The FAA expects a two- to three-fold increase in national air traffic by 2025, and cites NextGen as a critical next step in meeting the explosion in aviation demand.

“Our proposal will make it easier for airports, airlines and controllers to keep pace with the skyrocketing demand for air travel this nation is going to experience over the coming decades,” said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. “With over a billion passengers expected in the air by 2015, we have to act now or risk gridlock in our skies and on our taxiways.” Added Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, “Anyone who has experienced the frustration and inconvenience of a delayed flight should take a very close look at what we’re proposing.”

As local officials continue to tinker with funding, aesthetic and traffic issues for the new terminal, and its impact on the adjacent Market Common initiative, these additional points relayed in the FAA’s NextGen release bear repeating:

• The legislation also provides limited new borrowing authority that can be used by the FAA to support the construction of new runways, airport terminals and air traffic control facilities and equipment.
• The legislative proposal makes several changes designed to improve the ability of airports to meet capital needs and proposes to reform the Passenger Facility Charge Program to enable large and medium sized airports to raise local funds for vital construction projects. It also will restructure the Airport Improvement Program by better targeting Federal funds. And the bill funds research into new engine and airframe technology that will reduce aircraft noise and engine emissions.

On the surface, NextGen makes perfect sense. It must make too much sense, since right now it’s neither driving network news ratings nor selling newspapers. Is NextGen the panacea for all that ails the airline industry? Hardly.

But it appears to be a necessary and significant start. And though it isn’t the “sexy” topic that dominates the water cooler discussion these days, it will have a sizable impact on the local and national aviation issues that we continue to debate. From that standpoint alone, it’s time for Congress to get it done.