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The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) reported this month that corporate jet travel is down 25% since December, 2007. NBTA conducted a survey among business travel buyers late in 2008.

Businesses reported a $140-175 increase per trip domestically, and upwards of $400 increase on international trips. The result has been alternative travel methods, or meetings conducted online rather then the costly trip. In fact, according to the survey, 56% of companies surveyed reported taking cost cutting measures when it comes to business travel. This has become aparent in the aviation industry. Small business are being affected by the increasing price of air fare at the airlines, while large corporations are being pressured away from the use of private jets. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports that air taxi operations are down 18% nationwide since 2005, while general aviation operations are down 30%.

Meanwhile. the number of aircraft for sale is ever increasing while prices are slowly falling. Corporations like AIG and Leehman Brothers, who received bailout funds, have dumped thier jets for millions less than what they paid for them, at public and government pressure. Even companies who have not taken any bailout money are closing down thier aviation programs for fear of public perceptions, flooding the market with used corporate jets.

"We're hearing stories that people are very concerned about flying to Washington, because of the potential for being targeted by the media and the politicians" John Meehan, general manager of Landmark Aviation at Washington Dulles airport, told National Public Radio.

The industry crisis has sparked action from the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). CEO Ed Bolen has lauched his "No Plane, No Gain" campaign aimed at convicing Washington that there is a place for business avaition. Bolen recognizes that business aviation contributes $150 billion into the U.S. economy with more than 1.2 million employees (www.noplanenogain.org). Another misconception of business aviation is that every corporate flight is a pleasure cruise for CEO's. An NBAA survey found that 86% of business flights are made by mid-level employees. It is simply cheaper, once air fare, time spent in airports waiting to board, deplane, waiting on luggage, etc, are all calculated, for the businessman to fly privately than to take an airline. The use of a private jet also allows the passenger to continue working, via phone or internet, while airborne. The NBAA says that companies that use private aircraft, return more to their shareholder than companies who do not.

"Business aviation is a fundamental part of our nation's aviation system, but there's a lot about the industry that's not well-understood" Bolen said at a FAA forum in late March. "[Business Aviation] provides a lifeline for the many communities across the country that have little or no airline service" continued Bolen.

The Office of Manegement and Budget assesses how federal agencies keep projected timelines for federal projects. The Office last month rated the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Automatic Dependend Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), the new satellite based air traffic control system, a .97 out of a possible 1 for completing installation and deployment on time. The $1.8 billion project was awarded to ITT corp. The 18 year project is set to replace the growingly obsolete radar based system currently in use.

In South Florida, all ground based systems are already functioning and equipped aircraft can receive the free traffic and weather service in flight. The ADS-B is scheduled to be active throughout the U.S. by 2013. ITT Corp. was awarded a better then perfect score of 1.04 for being under budget.

For more on ADS-B check the FAA's website on ADS-B.

The Obama Administration has released the first budget and aviation groups are in outrage. “The Budget proposes repealing some aviation excise taxes and replacing these taxes with direct user charges,” quotes a line from page 129 of the budget found here. These user fees would begin in 2011 and would fund approximately half of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) $7 billion budget. “It is often said the devil is in the details, but even with only a few details, we are concerned,” said AOPA President Craig Fuller in a press release, noting the lack of details in the budget. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) sent a letter to the Administration, expressing they are very “troubled by the budget outline issued by the White House.” National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James K. Coyne also disagreed with the proposed budget. "While the Bush Administration proposed a similar user fee, NATA is hopeful that Congress will reject the proposal as they've done previsouly," express Coyne.

The “user charges” should concern general aviation as well as charter airlines. “Direct user charges are just another name for user fees,” noted Fuller.

It’s part car, part aircraft. The Terrafugia Transition is a light sport aircraft which folds up into a car that will fit in a standard garage. The Transition cruises at 100 knots with a range of 500 nautical miles (NM). The Proven 100 hp Rotax 912S engine runs off unleaded fuel with a fuel burn of 5 gallons per hour in the air.

On the ground, the Transition’s wings fold up and the car is front wheel drive with a top speed of 65 mph and a fuel burn of 30 mpg.

The two seat aircraft/vehicle recently completed a number of high speed taxi tests and is pushing for the first flight test by March. The Transition required 2,500 feet of runway to takeoff and is scheduled for delivery in 2010.

With the ‘big three’ in Washington this week looking for bailout bucks, aviation manufactures suffer in silence. More than 500 workers at the Wichita, Kan. and Bend. Ore. plants were notified Monday that they only had 60 days of work left. Just before Thanksgiving, Cirrus Design announced a “production pause,” significantly reducing production for the rest of the year. More than 350 employees from the Grand Forks, North Dakota plant will be without work over the holidays. Cirrus employees are expected to return to work Jan. 5 and will retain full benefits throughout the break.

Hawker Beechcraft, Piper and Mooney have all also recently announced cutbacks while Eclipse Aviation works through bankruptcy.

It takes longer for an air carrier flight to get gate-to-gate today than it did twenty years ago. Why? Congestion. And the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects air traffic to triple by the year 2025. Everything from the new Airbus A380 just coming into service-which has greater separation requirements than other ‘heavies’- and with a flood of very light jets (VLJ) into the air space system, the air traffic system is on the verge of crisis.  

The answer to the problem is Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B is a satellite based system that is more accurate than radar and will allow for tighter separation between aircraft. First tested at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., the FAA has already begun implementation.  

ADS-B equipped aircraft broadcast their own GPS position to a ground receiver once per second. Air traffic controllers receive this information for a more accurate radar display (current radar separation minima are based on accuracy errors). The same information, along with weather, NOTAMS, and other aviation information can be broadcast back to the aircraft, allowing pilots to have much of the same information as the controllers. With this new system, separation minima can be reduced to as little as one mile (currently, separations requirements range from 3-5 miles, and can increase to as much as 20 miles en route when weather conditions exists).  

With time, the new system will allow for more direct routes and glide descents, saving airlines and air charters fuel and therefore, money. With the price of Jet-A up 400% from just a few years ago, any amount of fuel savings makes a large difference for the struggling airlines. FAA administrator Robert Sturgell announced last week that the first ADS-B system is up and running in Florida. “The next generation of air travel has arrived,” Sturgell boasted in a press release. The FAA has plans for nationwide use by 2013. ADS-B is also already being used in Alaska for precision approaches into high risk airports.   

Also contributing to the alleviation of air traffic, the FAA announced last week the opening of new runways at three major airports. The Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Seattle Tacoma airports each saw an addition of one runway, allowing for an additional 330,000 take-offs and landings each year. “These new runways are a testimony to the power of perseverance, the wisdom of foresight and the audacity of action,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters in a press release. There’s nothing a pilot likes more than to touch down or take off on a new slab of concrete,” said Sturgell about the new runways.