Business Community Signals That NextGen Means Business

The National Alliance for the Advancement of NextGen (NAANG) has surpassed 1,000 members, signaling the unprecedented support for improvements in air traffic systems among travel and tourism industry and business leaders. In announcements across the country, officials highlighted that already the benefits of NextGen are being realized today, and there is a need to press forward the implementation of NextGen to ensure the nation's busiest commercial airports can continue to serve air passengers and air cargo users without suffering gridlock in the sky. NAANG announced that the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is its 1,000th member and that the group is up to 1,038 members, and counting.

NAANG was formed in 2009 by organizations concerned about the congestion at the nation's airports in order to press for an expedited FAA timeline for delivering NextGen technologies and benefits. NextGen will vastly improve the national air traffic control system by deploying new technologies, and modifying procedures and operations utilized by airlines and airports. NextGen is expected to help reduce delays at the nation's most congested and delay-prone airports, saving the nation billions in congestion-related costs. NextGen will also help airports better accommodate the traveling public without compromising safety, and benefit the environment by reducing use of fuel by 1.4 billion gallons by 2018.

In recent weeks, NAANG membership has grown to include companies and organizations from across the country, and from all sectors of the economy, not just those involved day to day in the travel and tourism sector. NAANG's newest members include:  In California: First Century Bank, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, The Bay Area Council, LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce, Kindel Gagan, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Maquire Aviation Group, Mercury Air Group, Premier Partnerships; in Colorado: the Metro Denver Aviation Coalition; in Illinois: Hon. Michael Zalewski, Chairman, Aviation Committee of the Chicago City Council, the Illinois Manufacturer's Association; in Ohio: The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Cleveland Partnership; in New York: Loews Hotels; Nomia Design; in Virginia: Spider Management Company; and in Wyoming: Sagebrush Capital. Additionally, official government proclamations on the importance of Next Gen were issued in recent weeks in the Texas cities of Dallas, Euless, Coppell, Grapevine and Fort Worth.

NAANG is also pleased to announce that The Silicon Valley Leadership Group has joined its ranks. The group, founded in 1978 by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, represents more than 375 of Silicon Valley's most respected employers on issues, programs and campaigns that affect the economic health and quality of life in Silicon Valley, including energy, transportation, education, housing, health care, tax policies, economic vitality and the environment. Leadership Group members collectively provide nearly one of every three private sector jobs in Silicon Valley and contribute more than $3 trillion to the worldwide economy.

Jerry Roper, President Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said: "We are honored to be the 1,000th member of the Next Gen Alliance, joining our colleagues in the business community to signal the importance of this technology and how it can improve airports across the country to the benefit of our nation's economy."

Susan M. Baer, Director of Aviation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said, "NextGen is critically important as we strive to improve the experience of those utilizing the New York region's major airports -- where passenger volumes are expected to reach 170 million annually by 2030. We applaud the progress the FAA is making in NextGen deployment and urge Congress to continue to make funding NextGen a top national transportation and infrastructure priority."

NAANG also continues to draw new members from within the travel sector, and American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and all 28 members of the Regional Airline Association have joined. So have airports across the country, including: Baltimore Washington International, San Francisco International Airport, Thurgood Marshall Airport, Long Island MacArthur Airport, Los Angeles World Airport, Oakland International Airport, Memphis-Shelby County Airport, Mineta San Jose International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the Westchester County Airport. Additionally the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport issued an official proclamation on the importance of NextGen.

FMI: www.panynj.gov/airports/nextgen.html