Air Transport Association Statement on FY2008 Bush Administration Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization of the leading U.S. airlines, today issued the following statement in response to the Bush administration's fiscal 2008 budget proposal:

"We are pleased that the administration's budget proposal recognizes that sound economics and basic fairness require a link between air traffic control (ATC) services and what system users pay for those services," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "This proposal would establish a cost-based method to fund our nation's aviation system, with a direct correlation between revenue and cost. This is a positive step toward much-needed system modernization.

"The administration's proposal also seems to recognize that in the ATC system, a blip is a blip. Whether there are three or 300 passengers on an aircraft, to an air traffic controller, a blip is a blip on the radar screen. At the same time, it would accommodate the desires of the business aviation community to maintain a simple, per-gallon fuel tax, but one redesigned to fairly reflect costs.

"We are also pleased that the administration, like our ATA member airlines, is not satisfied with the status quo. Americans are innovators who recognize challenges and take steps to address them. A system where users pay for the services they consume is essential to funding the ATC improvements the nation so desperately needs. It will allow us to make rapid progress to the digital, satellite and GPS technologies required to handle 21st century demand."

ATA airline members transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information regarding ATA and its member airlines, visit http://www.airlines.org.