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Inside FAA's GPS-Based Air Traffic Control
longacre writes "With the growing number of planes in the air setting its archaic radar-based air traffic control on a course toward 'total system collapse,' the FAA has quietly begun testing a new GPS-based system on Alaska Airlines 737s. While radar can take over half a minute to determine a plane's location, GPS technology known as ADS-B broadcasts an aircraft's position to controllers and nearby pilots essentially in real time. If all goes as planned, travelers will see fewer delays as planes will be able to fly closer together and in reduced visibility conditions, and airlines will achieve significant fuel savings by flying more direct routes. The feds plan a gradual rollout over the next two decades that may cost up to $40 billion." There's still some contention about where the funding will come from.
Delta owns the following:
a tion/delta_stats_facts/aircraft_fleet/
71 Boeing 737s @ $50 million per
68 Boeing 757s @ $65 million per
75 Boeing 767s @ $140 million per
8 Boeing 777s @ $200 million per
63 MD 88s @ $40 million per
16 MD 90s @ $45 million per
68 CRJ 100/200/700s @ $24 million per
that brings this one airline's fleet cost to just about $25 billion. And I was giving the low estimate for the cost of the planes.
http://www.delta.com/about_delta/corporate_inform