NextGen is satellite navigation that allows pilots to see their exact location and the location of other aircraft around them. It will allow more direct routs of flight and more accurate landing procedures. It also allows an aircraft to fly over the Gulf of Mexico and stay in radar contact where before they could only be seen up to 200 miles offshore. It is already being tested and will be widely used by 2018 depending on funding. In February 2014, a Jet Blue flight was flying from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale and encountered a 200-mile stretch of thunderstorms along the coast of Florida. Rather than going north and around they were able to divert south over the Gulf saving 60 gallons of jet fuel and preventing 12,000 pounds of exhaust emissions http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/stories/?slide=31. This will have a major impact on both the airlines and general aviation because it will allow for faster routs and will save on fuel and time. It will also allow for more traffic in the sky with an increase in safety
NextGen is expensive but it has the potential to save billions in the future. There are many ways to get the funding needed. One obvious way would be to ask for funding from the government, but with the recent cuts, funding there will be very limited. Another way would be to increase the price of tickets to help with costs, but I believe that the airlines themselves could help fund the program. Over time they will save billions of dollars on fuel and with faster routs could provide more flights. Investing money now will be a good investment for the future and will pay off over time.
It is hard to say how NextGen will affect aviation careers. From what is sounds like there will still be a need for air traffic controllers and the job of the pilots will remain the same. It will just mean new systems to learn and more automation in aircrafts.
http://aviationweek.com/awin/faa-s-nextgen-program-reaches-critical-period
http://www.faa.gov/Nextgen/slides/?slide=1
First I would like to point out that we both used the Jet Blue flight as a reference. Second I think even with federal cutbacks they could still find the money for the NextGen systems but yes I agree the airlines should pay for a good portion.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used Jet Blue as an example. NextGen, while improving safety, will save company's a lot of money and I think could pay for itself in the long run. You even went as far to say what emissions are being saved, got to keep the environmentalists happy right?
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated this concrete example of Jet Blue. Good info.
ReplyDeleteI read the article you linked to in your blog. I never realized that aircraft didn't fly over the gulf for a more direct route.
ReplyDeleteI like how you say NextGen is expensive as we look at it now but in the future it will be well worth it and potentially save the industry a significant amount of money. Also I agree that it makes sense to have the airlines contribute a lot of the funding.
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