Defense Airlift-Getting the Most from Our Airline Fleets.

摘要

This paper analyzes five proposed programs to increase the effectiveness of the commercial airlines of the United States: 1) Establish a new national landing fee policy in the United States. Fees are to be varied based on the usefulness of the landing aircraft to national defense; 2) Open up selected military airfields for joint use by those airlines which contribute most to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF); 3) Recompute the method of determining how $662.8 million in airlift contracts are awarded, to recognize those companies which operate the aircraft best suited for use in a national emergency; 4) Recompute reimbursements for CRAF modification to better acknowledge the penalties of carrying the extra weight; and 5) Ensure the current CRAF Enhancement Program remains viable even in the current boom period for the airline industry. The paper shows that the U.S. government is the major factor in the health of the nation's airlines. The government has an obligation to also insure the airline fleet will meet defense needs. (kr)