Op-Ed: Rectify Inequity In Funding Air Traffic, Airport Infrastructure Projects

Passengers expect to fly safely and arrive at their destinations on time. While U.S. air travel unquestionably is the safest in the world, our system is marred by congestion-induced delays—and it is getting worse. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that flight delays will increase by more than 60 percent by 2014. Without modernization, we will have gridlock.

Airlines, private flyers and corporate jet interests support modernizing our outdated and inefficient air traffic control system. Transformation to a digitally enabled, satellite-based system will increase capacity in response to system demand and improve our environmental performance with more direct routings, reducing fuel burn and emissions.

Congress is currently debating how to pay for ATC modernization and how to ensure fair and predictable funding for the next-generation ATC system. Unfortunately, what we have today is an unfair, unpredictable and completely lopsided funding system where commercial airline passengers are forced to subsidize corporate aircraft that do not pay their fair share.

This subsidy is staggering: according to FAA, airlines and their customers contribute 92 percent of payments to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (which funds air traffic and airport infrastructure projects and operations) while driving only 66 percent of ATC costs. On the other hand, high-performance corporate jets account for 17 percent of ATC costs but contribute only 8 percent of the taxes and fees.

The subsidy is even more absurd when you consider that a corporate jet flying the same route as a commercial airliner uses the same ATC services and drives the same costs. For example, a commercial flight between Atlanta and San Francisco pays $1,850 in passenger taxes while a corporate jet, making the same flight and using the same resources, only pays $265. There is no reason that corporate jets should continue to have their expenses covered out of commercial passengers' wallets.

Unfortunately, some in the corporate aircraft community seem to want to talk about anything but the facts when it comes to paying their share of expenses. "Corporate jets are only 4 percent of traffic at the 25 top airports." Irrelevant: In major metropolitan areas, corporate jets often meet or exceed the number of airline flight operations in controlled airspace. "FAA is getting plenty of money under the current tax system." Wow: As long as corporate jets get a free ride and can get the commercial passengers to pay all those taxes, why should they care? Or, best of all, since they do not like the data showing the extent of their free ride, "FAA's cost accounting and cost allocation is just wrong." Enough!

As a matter of fundamental equity, it is high time Congress comes to grips with this. The Senate has started that process with proposed legislation that opens the door to both rapid system modernization and a fair, consistent and reliable funding stream. Disappointingly, the House authorizing committee has, thus far, put forward what is at best a status quo proposal.

We recommend replacing the airlines' payment method with a per-passenger tax that takes advantage of existing tax collection mechanisms, is more closely tied to projected FAA costs, and allows FAA to better support long-term investments in technology and infrastructure. Corporate aircraft could continue to pay through a fuel tax, but that tax would be calibrated to assure they pay their full proportional share of system costs. This proposal would return funding to the cost-based principles adopted by Congress in 1970, and ensure that airlines and their customers pay for the costs that they impose on the system.

ATC modernization must move forward. It is a necessity to maintain the viability of the aviation industry in our nation. We look to Congress to ensure that the costs of modernization are shared equitably by all users, so that we all pay our fair share.