US Airways CEO "prefers to live without" NextGen if charges rise; "Do No Harm" policy needed

US Airways CEO, Doug Parker, stated the carrier would "prefer to live without" the proposed NextGen air navigation system, if it will result in higher charges and taxation on airlines. The only intervention he sought otherwise from the Administration was to "impose restrictions on speculation in the oil commodities markets."

US Airways: "Take, for example, NextGen. It will yield enormous benefits to consumers through reduced congestion. It will also reduce carbon emissions significantly by shortening flight times. Our industry has worked well with the Federal Aviation Administration to shape NextGen, and we are extremely supportive of its implementation. However, if the cost of deploying NextGen has to be covered by even higher taxes or fees imposed on the airlines, we prefer to live without it at the current time. This is not just because we believe the public benefits of NextGen justify funding it with general tax revenues (although they do). It is more because our industry currently lacks the financial wherewithal to finance costly projects like this..... In short, our request of the Administration as it relates to U.S. aviation is "Do No Harm." Source: Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO; Letter to Secretary of Transportation, 11-Nov-2009