Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. airlines and small-jet owners have joined forces to lobby for $4 billion in economic-stimulus aid, setting aside a two-year dispute over air-traffic control costs.

Nine Washington-area trade groups representing carriers, plane users such as PepsiCo Inc., and manufacturers including Boeing Co. are seeking aid to advance the government’s so-called Next Generation overhaul of air-traffic control technology. They say they want to ensure lawmakers don’t overlook aviation in the $775 billion stimulus plan proposed by President-elect Barack Obama.

“There’s recognition amongst all of us that the only way we’re going to move NextGen is if we’re united,” said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president for government affairs at the Air Transport Association, in an interview. Among the group’s members are Delta Air Lines Inc. and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines.

The joint push is a departure for small-plane and airline groups that fought over a Bush administration plan to cut the airlines’ tax burden and shift some of it to corporate-jet operators. Airlines said they overpaid for air-traffic costs that small jets got for a discount.

“If we didn’t stop bickering we’d get lost in the stampede” for stimulus aid, said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association. His group represents companies such as SkyWest Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

The lobbying is aimed at Obama’s transition team and the congressional leadership, Pinkerton said. It includes a request for $2.2 billion to equip cockpits with satellite-based technology to help fit more planes in the sky, reduce delays and save fuel costs.

That technology, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast, costs about $40,000 to install in each newer-model jetliner and $7,000 for a business aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Routings, Landings

The groups also seek $1.39 billion for equipment and new procedures that will allow precise routings and landings at airports, and $458 million for cockpit computers that help pilots manage data and cut down on runway near collisions.

“There are a number of things in the aviation sector that can produce real economic benefits and stimulus effects in the short term,” said Dan Elwell, vice president of civil aviation for the Aerospace Industries Association. Members of the group include Boeing, General Electric Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

When the airlines and small-plane groups clashed, lawmakers said they were inundated with calls and letters from both sides. The fight ended in a draw, as legislation to finance the FAA stalled in Congress in May.

‘All Together’

Andy Cebula, executive vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a small-plane group, said he hopes the collaboration carries over to the FAA-funding legislation when Congress takes it up again this year.

“As we’ve gone around and done meetings on Capitol Hill, that’s been one of the first observations they’ve made -- that ‘this is great, you guys are all together on this,’” Cebula said.

Other associations lobbying for the stimulus aid include the National Business Aviation Association, the Cargo Airline Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the National Air Carrier Association and the National Air Transportation Association.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Hughes in Washington at jhughes5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 12, 2009 12:37 EST