Thu, Mar 02, 2006
Editor's Note:
Our lead story yesterday concerned reports of an agreement between
the FAA and the Air Transport Association on a user-fee system to
fund the national airspace. We have new information today... that
sets the record straight. Greg Martin speaks for the FAA.
"It's been incorrectly reported that the FAA and the ATA have
signed an agreement on a proposal that would fund the air traffic
control system through user fees. That's not correct, by any
degree. The ATA, as mentioned by Herb Kelleher in a speech at the
forecast conference before about 400 people and about a dozen
reporters, said at the very end of his remarks that the airline
industry -- those members of the ATA -- were able to hammer out a
proposal that they would offer to the administration that would
suggest funding of the system thru user fees, that they took about
a year for them to negotiate. That's all true and accurate -- it's
an industry proposal, which of course they are free to do with
whatever they want. They can lobby us with it, they can lobby
congress with it."
"Somehow, that proposal got linked to a proposal that we've been
working on for about a year now, and continue to work really hard
behind the scenes with the OMB, the Treasury and the
administration. Because when we offer our proposal -- which we plan
to do probably late March or early April -- we not only want it to
be an innovative proposal, one that really clearly matches the
needs of the system, but we actually want it to be a viable
proposal -- one that has success of actually being implemented,
knowing full well what are the very well-established positions by
various segments of the industry."
"Just to make absolutely crystal clear -- the ATA and their
members have a separate, distinct proposal that they are going to
be offering out there for those to consider. Meanwhile, the FAA
continues to work diligently on its proposal, and continues to
involve a variety of users to the system -- whether it be the GA
community, certainly commercial airlines, and let's not forget the
variety of different segments of user, whether it be piston
aircraft, turbine, or what have you."
"There are two separate, distinct plans. there is no agreement
between the FAA and the ATA on a proposal that would involve user
fees."
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