FAA to invest $4.2 million to equip 35 JetBlue A320s for NextGen

JetBlue A320. Photo: By Rob Finlayson.

US FAA said Thursday that it will spend $4.2 million over the next two years to equip 35 JetBlue Airways A320s with ACSS's SafeRoute ADS-B equipment, enabling the LCC to operate "more precise, satellite-based flights from Boston and New York [JFK] to Florida and the Caribbean" starting in 2012. In return, the airline has agreed to cover maintenance costs on the equipment and to share with FAA detailed data on flight operations.

Speaking at a press conference at Washington National Airport, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said that JetBlue operating GPS-guided revenue flights will serve as "proof of concept" for the NextGen ATC system the agency is endeavoring to implement (ATW Daily News, Feb. 3). "JetBlue is going to share with us the data that will give us the details on where, how and why NextGen is saving time and fuel," he explained.

He added that airlines investing in NextGen-capable cockpit equipment will enjoy the benefits of more efficient flight routes "ahead of everyone else." JetBlue will be "using [newly designed] routes like HOV lanes [on highways]," he asserted. "They'll bypass [more congested] routes that other airlines not similarly equipped have to use."

One of the long-running points of friction regarding NextGen has been the aircraft equipage cost; while Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, UPS Airlines and others have made investments in equipage, most US airlines have balked at the cost and claimed FAA has yet to demonstrate the eventual payoff. Babbitt said the federal investment in equipping JetBlue aircraft is similar to past agency collaborations with those airlines. He noted that further funding is available for aircraft equipage on a similar scale to the JetBlue program, but indicated that the industry will have to cover most of the equipage bill. JetBlue's successful use of ADS-B equipment will "help confirm [benefits] to others that are reluctant to invest," he stated.

JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said the airline hopes to "parlay the investment from the government" to achieve cost savings and operate in a more eco-friendly way. "I'd be delighted to make a further investment" in the future to equip additional aircraft, he told reporters at DCA.

FAA said in a statement that by next year JetBlue will be able to operate equipped A320s on a "new route to the Caribbean" and eventually may be able to utilize "two new, shorter ADS-B only routes to the Caribbean from Boston, New York and Washington."