editorial/ cover story - Air World

AVIATION NEWS
complements our narrow-body
fleet, flying where it would be
uneconomical to deploy larger
aircraft and offering equivalent
passenger comfort.”
Embraer has received more than
1,050 orders for its E-Jet family
of aircraft. Nearly 900 E-Jets
have been delivered to some 60
airlines in 40 countries. E-Jets are
operating with mainline carriers,
low cost airlines and are also
deployed on regional routes.
Bolen Tells
Congress of
Aviation's
Support for
'NextGen',
Outlines
Concerns
Washington, DC, – Federal
efforts to achieve a next
generation air traffic control
system (“NextGen”) require a
consensus among all aviation
segments in order to succeed,
National Business Aviation
Association (NBAA) President
and CEO Ed Bolen said in
testimony today before a House
subcommittee hearing on the
progress of NextGen initiatives.
“NextGen modernization holds
the promise of a safer, more
efficient, more accessible, and
more cost-effective national
transportation system,” Bolen
told members of the Aviation
Subcommittee for the House
Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, thanking
lawmakers for their continued
commitment to improving the
nation’s aviation system. The
subcommittee held the hearing to
review the FAA’s Management of
the NextGen program.
Bolen was invited to appear
before the subcommittee to
represent RTCA, an organization
charged with providing
c o n s e n s u s - b a s e d
recommendations to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
for proceeding on NextGen.
Bolen is a former RTCA chair,
and today serves as its vice chair.
“RTCA should continue to be the
forum for receiving FAA tasks,
achieving industry consensus,
and providing the FAA with
c o n s e n s u s - b a s e d
recommendations regarding
NextGen.”
Bolen explained that while the
general aviation community,
including NBAA’s 9,000
Member Companies, is
beginning “to see clear benefits
from the transition to a satellitebased
system with the
establishment of performance
based navigation,” some
concerns need to be addressed.
“NextGen raises significant cost
realities for system users,” Bolen
said, which means that program
implementation should proceed
with “a clear cost-benefit case
that firmly establishes system
requirements, incentivizes early
adoption, and provides
accountability through the
establishment of a
comprehensive timeline and
budget.”
Bolen told lawmakers that “the
entire cost of equipping for
NextGen must be borne by the
aircraft owner or operator and
cannot be passed along to
passengers. Because the costs
associated with equipping for
NextGen are significant,
operators need to be able to plan
ahead for necessary
expenditures.”
In fact, knowing with certainty
when new equipment
requirements are to go into effect,
and when NextGen
improvements will be
implemented, are important
considerations for all aviation
segments, Bolen said.
“Currently, budgetary
uncertainties and the lack of a
single comprehensive timeline
for achieving important
implementation milestones leave
users uncertain about what
equipment will be needed,
ultimately slowing adoption,”
Bolen told committee members.
“The FAA has committed to
bringing stakeholders together on
the development of a future
navigation plan, and components
of that plan must include a
‘transition strategy’ rather than a
light switch approach,” he
continued.
In addition, federal funding “to
maintain this legacy
infrastructure must be established
in order to ensure the continued
safe operation of the national
airspace system,” Bolen said.
In a final note of caution to
lawmakers, Bolen said that given
these needs, the risks to the
nation’s air transportation system
posed by sequestration – the
anticipated, across-the-board
funding reduction for all federal
agencies, as part of legislation
passed last year – are serious.
“Concerns over the prospect of
sequestration have created an
added level of uncertainty for
system users,” Bolen said.
“Potential cuts in FAA funding
overall, and NextGen funding in
particular, would have a severe
impact on the NextGen
implementation process.”
Review a copy of Bolen’s
testimony in its entirety.
Bombardier
Showcases
Class-Leading
Jets at Jet
Expo 2012
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--
(Marketwire - )
Bombardier Aerospace will be
showcasing four of its business
jets at the seventh annual Russian
International Aviation Exhibition,
Jet Expo 2012, in Moscow,
Russia, from September 27 to
September 29, 2012.
On display at the static park the
Global 6000 jet will make its
Russian debut with the industryleading
Bombardier Vision flight
deck, alongside the Challenger
605 aircraft, the Challenger 300
jet and the Learjet 60 XR aircraft.
"The Russian market for business
jets truly is prevalent in
Moscow," said Christophe
Degoumois, Vice President,
Sales, Russia, CIS, China, Asia-
Pacific and Australia,
Bombardier Business Aircraft.
"With the industry expected to
grow substantially over the next
20 years, Jet Expo is the perfect
opportunity for us to highlight the
class-leading attributes of our
AIR WORLD October 2012-19