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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 42801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17611]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Public Private Partnerships Public Meeting

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is conducting a public meeting on August 7 regarding 
program design and implementation of an equipage incentives program for 
commercial aircraft and general aviation to equip their aircraft with 
Next Generation Air Transportation (NextGen) capabilities, pursuant to 
the FAA's authority in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 
(sec. 221). The purpose of this meeting is to serve as an information 
sharing session.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Tedford, Office of Finance and 
Management: Telephone (202) 267-8930: Email: 9-AWA-APO-NextGenIncentives@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 granted authority for 
the Secretary of Transportation to establish an equipage incentive 
program to equip US registered aircraft operating in the National 
Airspace System (NAS) in the interest of achieving NextGen 
capabilities.
    The goal for an equipage program would be to encourage deployment 
of NextGen capable aircraft in the NAS sooner than would have occurred 
otherwise. Specifically, FAA would aim to increase the speed of 
adoption of NextGen equipage, which will accelerate delivery of NextGen 
benefits by reducing the time of mixed equipage operations. The FAA is 
examining various methods of reducing the Government's risk and 
determining the extent of industry interest in the program. The initial 
meeting on May 30 served to share FAA's preliminary thinking and seek 
industry feedback about what factors are beneficial to the various 
stakeholders, if such a program were to be created.

Meeting Information

    Public meeting at Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters (800 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591) on August 7, 2012, from 
1:00pm to 3:30pm. The meeting will also be available to view live on-
line. The purpose of the meeting is to share the evolution of our 
thinking based on what the agency heard from stakeholders subsequent to 
the initial PPP Meeting on May 30 and to communicate the agency's next 
steps. While several stakeholder groups have provided written and oral 
feedback to FAA since that May 30 meeting, the operator community has 
not provided much comment on this topic. The FAA is interested in 
hearing from this segment of the community about whether and how such a 
program would achieve the desired result of accelerating deployment of 
NextGen capable aircraft in the NAS sooner than would have occurred 
otherwise. The FAA has also received limited feedback from potential 
private partners and would encourage feedback from interested partners 
as well. Comments, questions and statements in advance of this August 7 
meeting should be submitted to: 9-AWA-APO-NextGenIncentives@faa.gov.
    The FAA recognizes that some of the information the agency is 
seeking might be considered proprietary or commercially sensitive. The 
FAA will take all steps needed to protect any information provided that 
is marked proprietary or commercially sensitive.
    RSVPs will be required for meeting attendance as well as webcast 
viewing. RSVP by August 3 to: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/equipage_incentives/. Background material, meeting agenda, and details 
of participation webcast for the August 7 meeting can also be obtained 
at: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/equipage_incentives/.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2012.
Julie Oettinger,
Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs and 
Environment.
[FR Doc. 2012-17611 Filed 7-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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