Better Air Service on the Horizon

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

See recent posts by Ed Perkins

With all the talk that Washington is “broken,” it’s good to report that House and Senate negotiators agreed on a bipartisan program to extend Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for four years. By far the most important provision is continuing to fund development and deployment of the NextGen air traffic control system.

The basic purpose of NextGen is to switch airspace control from ground-based radar systems to a system based on satellite navigation. This, in turn, will help ease airspace congestion, decrease flight times, decrease fuel burn, decrease airline costs, and provide improved bad-weather landing and takeoff capability at airports around the country. NextGen is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking; it uses fully developed off-the-shelf technology. Regional tests with even partial capability have already validated the claimed benefits.

Unlike short-term airfare sales, you won’t see NextGen benefits immediately. But you should see gradual but substantial improvements starting in a year or so. Given the bipartisan negotiators’ agreement, the consensus is that the full bill will easily pass in the House and Senate and that President Obama will sign.

This may not be the only good news for travelers to come out of Washington this year, but it almost surely will remain the best.

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