Plane Conversations

Update on the FAA Reauthorization Bill

In a post on rollcall.com , Representative Jerry Costello urges Congress to “finish the job” regarding the passage of the FAA Reauthorization bill that has been beating around Capitol Hill for more than three years. Representative Costello, Democrat from Illinois, is Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation.

I believe most everyone in General Aviation and the Airlines support the funding to develop the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The airlines are still squawking about who will pay the cost of new equipment required to upgrade their fleets to work with NextGen.  I can not imagine any situation where the airlines will ever really be content with how they are being treated by the government, so nothing new there.

NextGen will hopefully bring efficiency to a system of air traffic control that is at present marginalized and operating on 1960’s ground radar based technology.  Satellite guidance should allow more air traffic to flow in crowded corridors which will reduce delays and save fuel.  Maybe there will even be some reduction in the frustration passengers are experiencing today with airline travel!  Less delays on the ground and the air surely will make people happier.  Additionally, the airways will be safer with the new technology that will be more accurate in aircraft location and guidance.  

We have posted  several times about this Bill on Plane Conversations because it is important to our national air transportation infrastructure.

I don’t know the exact financial picture of this legislation.  I do know that an increase in the aviation fuel tax will fund some portion if not all of it.  In essence the users of the aviation system, including general aviation, will pay for the new technology that will benefit everyone.  Most people don’t mind paying for something if they see the value.

Hopefully the FAA will manage the program development wisely and give us our money’s worth.  Time will tell.  For now, Congress needs to do their job and get a Bill to the President to sign.

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Darren Goode reports on Government Executive.com that House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., predicted last  Wednesday that a multiyear FAA authorization bill will be signed into law by July 4.

Quoting Rep. Oberstar “I think we’ve made enough progress and we ought to be able to get it done by then,” he said. “We are working toward that goal. We’ll get there, we’ll do it.”

For the complete article:

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0510/052010cdam2.htm

In its present form all of the associations that represent the various general aviation constituencies, including NBAA and NATA are for the authorization bill.

There is a provision in the bill on the house side that makes it easier for FedEx workers to Unionize. Obviously FedEx management opposes this provision and has fought it all along the way. It was taken out of the Senate version thanks to the help of our Tennessee Senators.

I have said this before, and will say it again. I do not understand why the provision dealing with FedEx has to be in a bill that funds the FAA and should be dealing with the entire aviation system. It seems to me that lawmakers like loading up these bills with provisions that take care of their key constituencies, which in this case for House Dems would be the Unions. There doesn’t seem to be any rational correlation between funding the FAA and FedEx unionizing?  

OK, Back to the FAA Bill:

It will be good for the FAA to finally have a funding authorization that is more than 3 months or a year. They have been on the short string for three years now. Hopefully the FAA can take this and do something positive with the NextGen Air Traffic Control System.

On the GA side, we will pay more fuel taxes but most people think that is not a bad price to pay in return for no user fees. I tend to agree. Once a new type of tax sneaks in it never seems to go away and the old tax never goes away either. At least we in the FBO and charter business understand how to collect and pay the fuel tax. It is an efficient way of funding our aviation infrastructure system. User fees in other countries around the world have proven to be a nightmare for operators to handle from an administrative and accounting standpoint.

We should expect some inefficiency in how the money is spent, because after all it is big government and there is no disincentive for inefficient spending. Hopefully if the FAA throws enough money at it we will eventually get a NextGen system that can effectively increase the flow of traffic through our airways and make the system more time efficient and save fuel.

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A recent article on www.roadwarriortips.com revealed what are the most business friendly states in the US.  And with many business travelers who utilize private charter aircraft, I thought this might be an interesting read.

And I’ll be honest, they are not the ones I would have picked right off, but after reading this article… yeah, it makes sense these were chosen. 

The article reads:   

Highlights from a recent reportby Development Counselors International on states with a favorable business environment are revealing.  One of the important findings of this report is that amount of business travel is a key influencer on where to locate new business operations.  Another, clearly related, focus of the report was to rank states based on their business-friendly environment. 

Ranked from first to third by business development executives are: Texas, North Carolina and Georgia. 

Beyond their attraction for business, each state has great attractions that make business travel as enjoyable as it is profitable.  Texas, for example, has two huge cities and plenty of fun smaller towns.  Houston, that state’s largest city, may have 25 Fortune 500 companies, but it is also home to amazing sightseeing attractions like the Johnson Space Center and a Theater District that is second only to New York City. 

North Carolina is not only one of America’s major banking centers, it also is a thriving agricultural state.  Tourists love North Carolina and have made it the sixth most visited state in the Union.   This state has it all, from a magnificent coast with beautiful barrier islands to the majestic Great Smoky Mountains. 

Known for luscious peaches, Georgia is full of wonderful places to see and things to do.  Be adventurous and take a boat tour of the Okefenokee Swamp, immerse yourself in colonial history in Savannah or tour Atlanta, one of the most exciting cities in the Southeast. 

So, next time you take a business trip to somewhere in this beautiful and diverse country, why not take at look at what the area has to offer?  Put down your iPhone for a few hours, put on some sneakers and see what’s on offer.  You might even get back from your business trip feeling better than when you left! 

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