Urgent implementation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of new Air Traffic Control (ATC) and flying measures are needed to curb the spiralling costs facing airlines, says one influential US body.
ACTE ” Association of Corporate Travel Executives ” is calling for drastic action to help stem the impact of sky-high fuel prices that saw oil touch a scarcely believable $139 per barrel this weekend.
”The revitalisation of the ATC system is paramount to alleviating congestion, specifically in the North-East” [US], said ACTE executive director Susan Gurley. ”This flight control enhancement has been dangled before the industry and public for the last ten years; now with carriers looking to charge for every conceivable aspect of a trip to pay for the fuel, it”s essential that this system be developed and implemented as soon as possible.
”In addition, the potential of point-to-point flying, as opposed to channelling aircraft through routings like jammed highways in the sky, needs to be fully explored immediately.”
Gurley”s concern is evident at a time when airlines are desperately seeking to recoup the soaring cost of kerosene that has seen airlines such as British Airways for example, impose fuel surcharges of up to ”218 ($430) for long-haul trips.
Both the US and Europe have long discussed the possibility of improving ATC, particularly in the latter region with its densely complicated system of national networks, while the idea of allowing flight crew to plot their own, more direct routes, has equally received a great airing but no concrete action.
ACTE cites reports noting that congestion due to aircraft stacking at airports or running engines waiting in a queue for take-off, cost the US airline industry and its passengers a whopping $45bn last year, while an even higher figure of ”65bn will be spent on fuel overall during 2008.
New developments such as the GPS Air Traffic Control System are not slated to come on stream before 2025, but Gurley insists that its cost ” estimated to be between $15bn-$22bn ” is small beer compared to the current waste.
”This is more than just an essential tool for aviation,” said Gurley. ”This new ATC system will also make a major contribution to the [US] national economy at a critical time.”
Perhaps the sky-high cost of oil will force the regulators” hand, particularly when it comes to allowing pilots to choose their own flight paths using the shortest route. Gurley however, is realistic enough to know that even both measures if fully adopted, would not necessarily return oil to its former low levels.
”These developments, however, could lead to greater economic stability within the industry for both carriers and consumers,” she said.