In cars, GPS helps save fuel by getting you to your destination using the most direct route possible. The same may soon be true for airliners if a plan to overhaul worldwide air traffic systems ever gets off the ground (pun intended).

The benefits range from better airspace management and fewer delays to improved safety. But airlines have something else to consider: massive fuel savings. USA Today reports:

U.S. airlines could save $10 billion a year in fuel costs by 2025 if the FAA upgrades to a satellite-based air-traffic control system, The Associated Press reports. But, AP says that proposed upgrade "has languished in the planning stages for more than a decade" while the U.S. aviation system currently relies on "a World War II-era air traffic network that often forces planes to take longer, zigzagging routes" that cost carriers "billions of dollars in wasted fuel while."

As for the upgraded "NextGen" plan, AP says it would cost $35 billion and "would replace the current radar system with the kind of GPS technology that has become commonplace in cars and cellphones. Supporters say it would triple air traffic capacity, reduce delays by at least half, improve safety and curb greenhouse gas emissions. An Associated Press analysis of federal and industry data found that if the new system were already in place, airlines could have saved more than $5 billion in fuel this year alone."

If you want more information on NextGen, the FAA has got you covered.