Marion C. Blakey, President & Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Industries Association
Biography provided by participant
Marion C. Blakey took the reins of the Aerospace Industries Association as the eighth full-time executive in November 2007. She joined AIA from the Federal Aviation Administration, where she completed a five-year term as administrator in September 2007.
At the FAA, Blakey oversaw the safest period for air travel in United States history. She also instituted solid business practices at the agency, with more than 97 percent of the agency's major programs coming in on time and on budget. Under her leadership, the Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen, was launched and significant progress made toward its implementation.
She previously served as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as in key positions at the Departments of Commerce, Education and Transportation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and the White House.
There is widespread agreement that NextGen is a game-changer when it comes to air travel. It will help us meet environmental goals and improve our economic health, while increasing airspace capacity by two- or three-fold. But, there are a number of hurdles to overcome before NextGen is implemented, and funding is chief among them. First, The FAA has been operating under a series of continuing resolutions and extensions since 2007. Failure to have a permanent spending bill has had a domino effect as critical NextGen projects are delayed under funding extensions. Second, deployment of such a massive project requires… Read more
The $787 billion stimulus package is working well for our nation’s transportation infrastructure if you don’t consider our national airspace system part of our transportation infrastructure. The stimulus package included only $1 billion for aviation. This is particularly perplexing in light of the fact that President Obama and Transportation Secretary LaHood have both since said that the Next Generation Air Transportation System is not only a national priority, but it is so important to the vitality of our national transportation system that its 2025 completion date should be accelerated by ten years. We want to remind the transportation community how improvements… Read more
It seems the answer to just about every aviation-related question these days is “NextGen”. Although this week’s question covers a lot of territory, the answer is still the same – “NextGen”. When fully implemented, the Next Generation Air Transportation System will promote growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce congestion, increase mobility and improve safety. The FAA’s plan would achieve full implementation by 2025. But, our environment and economy can’t wait that long. That’s why the aerospace industry is completely behind the Administration’s stated goal of achieving real NextGen benefits in three to five years. The House has passed an FAA Reauthorization Bill (HR 915),… Read more
When discussing aviation and the environment a couple of facts need to be stated up front. Aviation produces less than 3 percent of the world’s CO2. Aviation has also improved its fuel efficiency without any government intervention by 70 percent over the past four decades. However, we realize that despite a great track record, civil aviation needs to step up to the plate and do more. That is why we believe a strategy that includes new engine and aircraft technology, satellite-based navigation, aviation bio-fuels research and positive economic incentives is the best way to improve our industry’s environmental performance… Read more
Despite the fact that aviation contributes less than 3 percent of overall CO2 emissions, the U.S. aviation industry is very focused on reducing its carbon footprint. In fact, we have an excellent track record of doing just that. Over the last few decades, fuel burned per seat mile is down more than 70 percent from early jets. But we must be careful when it comes to including aviation in cap-and-trade, or any other emission regulatory program. The unique nature of aviation – taking off in one nation, landing in another – makes fragmented, regional regulation untenable. Aircraft produce CO2 emissions from… Read more
You only need to look as far as the Obama Administration’s economic policy to see that aviation infrastructure improvement is vital to boosting the economy. The stimulus should dedicate $4 billion to fund the purchase and installation of equipment for NextGen, the new satellite-based air transportation system. This would not only provide much-needed system upgrades within an industry that is responsible for 5 percent of our national GDP, but it will create an estimated 77,000 jobs in the near-term to get it done. This would also be a huge investment in green technology, which this administration has promoted as vital… Read more
Biography provided by participant
