January 29, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Thank you for your bold, confident leadership in confronting the economic challenges facing so many Americans. Articulated throughout the campaign and again on January 20, your clear vision of a better future has helped unite our nation and provided some much-needed optimism at a most difficult hour.
You are to be commended for your intention to use federal stimulus investments to reinvent as they revitalize, to transform in addition to stimulating our economy. Projects may need to be “shovel-ready” to help in 2009, but they must also be “next generation” to sustain future growth in the years beyond. Investment in the Next Generation Air Traffic Control (ATC) system is an essential underpinning for such sustained economic growth, and it can only come at the federal level.
Modernizing the ATC will create jobs immediately and reduce air traffic delays and fuel consumption in the years ahead. An investment of $4 billion in NextGen funding for avionics equipage and the necessary procedures to use them will:
- Generate 77,000 jobs. Such jobs will be across the industry including manufacturing, equipment installation, retraining and new airline jobs enabled by increased capacity.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The FAA states the full implementation of NextGen could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft by up to 12 percent by 2025, equivalent to taking 2.2 million cars off the road.
- Reduce passenger delays across the system.
- Be transformational for the broader economy.
As with so many other sectors of our economy and society, the aviation industry is at a crossroads right now. The past seven years, since Sept. 11, 2001, have been extraordinary, both for American carriers and for airlines around the world. New security demands, waves of bankruptcies and restructuring, rapidly rising fuel costs and expanding international competition have presented new challenges and new opportunities. Air travel is more essential than ever in bringing families closer together, letting American workers access global markets and enabling entrepreneurs to create jobs, companies and wealth.
In the 4th quarter of 2008, ATA members cut capacity by 7 percent – notably, domestic capacity declined 10.5 percent. Passenger demand in the same period declined systemwide by 8 percent with domestic traffic declining by 10 percent. Traffic and capacity are projected to decline for the balance of 2009. In particular, international traffic, a bright spot for the airlines in recent years, appears to be in sharp decline as the economic recession has appeared to make its way across the globe. The cost of this restructuring has taken a heavy toll. Within the past twelve months passenger carriers have been forced to shed 27,000 jobs, announced 10,000 additional lay-offs for 2009, and eight airlines have gone out of business.
No sector has more at stake in seeing America recover, and no sector is better positioned to help speed our nation’s return to growth and prosperity, than commercial aviation. Air transportation powers the U.S. economy. In 2006 America’s airlines contributed $692 billion to our GDP, directly and indirectly supported 10.2 million U.S. jobs. Any sustained national recovery will depend on affordable and efficient transportation networks connecting more people in more places.
Decisions made in Washington in 2009 will determine whether our aviation infrastructure is up to the challenge. The technologies now exist to improve the air traffic control infrastructure and reduce delays while safely accommodating more flights. The question is whether Congress and the administration will demonstrate the will to deploy them and the wisdom to invest in the next generation air traffic control architecture.
Mr. President, you have the opportunity to lead U.S. aviation into the 21st century and ensure that we remain the world leader in safety, security, environment and ingenuity. We are eager to be your partners.
Respectfully,