Airlines, Small-Jet Owners Seek $4 Billion in U.S. Stimulus Aid
By John Hughes
Bloomberg News
1/13/2009

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. airlines and small-jet owners have joined
forces to lobby for $4 billion in economic-stimulus aid, setting aside a
two-year dispute over air-traffic control costs.

Nine Washington-area trade groups representing carriers, plane users such
as PepsiCo Inc., and manufacturers including Boeing Co. are seeking aid to
advance the government’s so-called Next Generation overhaul of air-traffic
control technology. They say they want to ensure lawmakers don’t overlook
aviation in the $775 billion stimulus plan proposed by President-elect
Barack Obama.

“There’s recognition amongst all of us that the only way we’re going to
move NextGen is if we’re united,” said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president for
government affairs at the Air Transport Association, in an interview. Among
the group’s members are Delta Air Lines Inc. and AMR Corp.’s American
Airlines.

The joint push is a departure for small-plane and airline groups that
fought over a Bush administration plan to cut the airlines’ tax burden and
shift some of it to corporate-jet operators. Airlines said they overpaid
for air-traffic costs that small jets got for a discount.

“If we didn’t stop bickering we’d get lost in the stampede” for stimulus
aid, said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association. His
group represents companies such as SkyWest Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

The lobbying is aimed at Obama’s transition team and the congressional
leadership, Pinkerton said. It includes a request for $2.2 billion to equip
cockpits with satellite-based technology to help fit more planes in the
sky, reduce delays and save fuel costs.

That technology, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast, costs
about $40,000 to install in each newer-model jetliner and $7,000 for a
business aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Routings, Landings
The groups also seek $1.39 billion for equipment and new procedures that
will allow precise routings and landings at airports, and $458 million for
cockpit computers that help pilots manage data and cut down on runway near
collisions.

“There are a number of things in the aviation sector that can produce real
economic benefits and stimulus effects in the short term,” said Dan Elwell,
vice president of civil aviation for the Aerospace Industries Association.
Members of the group include Boeing, General Electric Co. and Lockheed
Martin Corp.

When the airlines and small-plane groups clashed, lawmakers said they were
inundated with calls and letters from both sides. The fight ended in a
draw, as legislation to finance the FAA stalled in Congress in May.

‘All Together’
Andy Cebula, executive vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association, a small-plane group, said he hopes the collaboration carries
over to the FAA-funding legislation when Congress takes it up again this
year.

“As we’ve gone around and done meetings on Capitol Hill, that’s been one of
the first observations they’ve made -- that ‘this is great, you guys are
all together on this,’” Cebula said.

Other associations lobbying for the stimulus aid include the National
Business Aviation Association, the Cargo Airline Association, the General
Aviation Manufacturers Association, the National Air Carrier Association
and the National Air Transportation Association.