Next gen affirmative 1ac advantage-Econ

A2: Spending DA

Bart Jansen [USA Today], 4/4/2012

(Report: Air traffic control improvements would save money, http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/04/nextgen/664954/1)

Improvements to the air-traffic control system could save hundreds of millions of dollars each year by consuming less fuel and reducing flight delays, according to an industry analyst's report released Wednesday. But airlines remain leery that the Federal Aviation Administration will follow through on improvements that justify buying more expensive equipment for planes, according to the report by Sakib bin Salam, a fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. FAA has estimated that its program for improving air-traffic control, which is nicknamed NextGen, will make flight routes more precise by tracking planes with a satellite global-positioning system. Routes that are more precise could be shorter, reduce congestion and burn less fuel, saving airlines and passengers money. But according to bin Salam, FAA hasn't released how it estimated that the program would cost $15 billion to $20 billion to build through 2025, or how it estimated potential savings that eclipse those figures. To nail down estimates, bin Salam calculated that burning 1% less fuel would have saved U.S. airlines $229 million in 2010, when fuel was much less expensive than today. Reducing flight delays by 1% would save $39 million per year, based on the cost of flights and the length of delays, bin Salam said. The FAA projects much larger savings in fuel and delays. "Even at a minimum, the savings could be significant," bin Salam told industry experts at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Congress recently approved four-year legislation for FAA, but airlines remain skeptical that lawmakers will continue funding the equipment and training for NextGen as budgets tighten. Options for specifying money for the project, such as raising a passenger tax or a fuel tax, would meet fierce opposition on Capitol Hill. "There is a lot of uncertainty in the industry about how much NextGen might cost," bin Salam said. His report was released on the same day that FAA officials unveiled NextGen improvements in Houston. Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Houston flights are projected to fly 648,000 miles less per year and reduce carbon emissions 31,000 metric tons. For example, he compared landing now to walking down a flight of steps of descents and accelerations, while under the new system planes will glide almost at idle like sliding down a banister. "Through NextGen, the FAA and members of the aviation industry are teaming up to make some of the most complex airspace in the country some of the most efficient," Huerta said.

The government is seeking to speed up the installation of a new air-traffic network ahead of a 2020 deadline. The system, called the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, by the Federal Aviation Administration, uses satellites to direct aircraft rather than ground-based radar. The upgrade of the network is intended to increase safety, cut delays and save fuel. It will cost $2.1 billion to $4.1 billion, which will be shared by the government and airlines, Randy Babbitt, the agency’s administrator, said Thursday in a conference call with reporters. The Obama administration has considered offering incentives to airlines as a way to install the satellite navigation equipment sooner, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in the call, without offering details. “We have the White House’s attention on this, significant enough people where there could be some opportunities for us to be helpful to them along the way,” Mr. LaHood said. “If we want the airlines to be a part of it, we have to move things along.” NextGen will reduce total flight delays by about 21 percent by 2018, according to the agency’s Web site. The installation of new equipment in airplanes, required by an F.A.A. rule announced in 2007, is one step in the 20-year upgrading of the network that controls the nation’s airspace. On Wednesday, the agency awarded Boeing, General Dynamics and the ITT Corporation contracts to help integrate new procedures and technologies into the air-traffic system, the F.A.A. said. The contracts are worth as much as $4.4 billion in the next 10 years, it said. Mr. Babbitt said he did not expect resistance from airlines to the performance standards for the equipment announced. “They clearly see the benefit,” he said. “The business case for NextGen becomes clearer daily.” James C. May, the chief executive of the Air Transport Association, the trade group for airlines, said it was “carefully reviewing” the rule given its cost.

A2: Spending DA

Next gen saves billions in a very short amount of time

JPDO, 2006 (Joint Planning and Development Office. “Next Generation Air Transportation System” http://www.jpdo.gov/library/in_Brief_2006.pdf)

As a part of developing NextGen’s portfolio, JPDO is using model- ing and simulation to measure and assess the benefits created by the new system. For example, as various NextGen capabilities become available, delays will drop substantially, and fuel use and emissions will be reduced. In optimum weather conditions, delays at roughly the midpoint of NextGen development are reduced by half, and this reduction becomes even more substantial as the initiative matures. Delay reduction in adverse weather conditions, a major issue in today’s operating environment, produces equally impressive results. These improvements, when NextGen reaches its final, system-wide transformation phase, will result in large scale benefits. Next- Gen improvements on the ground at airports could create benefits ranging from $328 million to $1.3 billion a year. In the low altitudes around airports, as NextGen moves to maturity, benefits could range from $6.5 billion to $19.7 billion a year. Benefits accrued through NextGen based operations in the high- altitude cruising environment could yield annual benefits of between $5.5 billion to $11.1 billion. With such substantial economic benefits to the nation, it is clear that the investment in NextGen is worthwhile. In addition to the financial benefits, the environment also benefits as emissions, noise and fuel consumption are all reduced.

Next gen will save hundreds of billions

Forbes 2012

According to the FAA, “This evolution is vital to meeting future demand, and to avoiding gridlock in the sky and at our nation’s airports.” If fully implemented, FAA analysts indicate that NextGen is expected to save $123 billion in costs by 2030.

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