GA Unites Against User Fees At NBAA
Poberezny leads off associations’ panel discussion
By Amy Laboda
EAA President Tom Poberezny voiced his concerns about the prospects of user fees during a user fee panel discussion on Wednesday at the 59th Annual National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) meeting in Orlando, Florida. “The airlines have united and drawn a bulls-eye right on the backs of the members of NBAA—whose members own and operate business aircraft,” he told attendees. “And even though they tell us that they are not interested in user fees for other general aviation aircraft, we know they will come after the rest of general aviation next. The airlines are united in their desire to control air traffic control and pay less [in taxes]. That is totally unacceptable to the future health of aviation.”
Other GA organizations were represented on the panel by Jim Coyne, president and CEO of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA); Peter Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA); Andy Cebula, executive vice-president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA); and Ed Bolen, NBAA president and session moderator.
Poberezny, who spoke first, asked, “Who made the airlines God? Who gave them the right to decide who’s in and who’s out—who should pay and who should not? I’m here to say today that we are united as a general aviation community, whether you fly a homebuilt or a warbird or a Cessna 172.”
Poberezny reiterated that GA already pays its fair share in fuel taxes, and that system works well. And the Aviation Trust Fund is currently raking in record amounts of those taxes, from fuel sold, and from tickets sold to airline passengers.
Figures show the U.S. National Airspace System is the largest, most efficient system in the world. “We have 18,000 landing sites and more than 5,000 public use airports,” Cebula noted. “We have 60 percent of the world’s general aviation fleet.” On average, a U.S controller handles 3,500 operations per year, and one IFR airplane costs $172 to control.
By comparison, Canada has 1,300 airports and each controller handles 1,900 operations per year. The cost of an IFR airplane to the system is $178. The Canadians originally taxed only business aircraft with user fees, but within 10 years, all GA aircraft began receiving user fee bills.
“The airlines are villianizing GA and business aviation to the general public,” Poberezny added. “They have made this a public issue and want no debate, and that has forced us to be defensive.
“Talk to your Congressional Representative and tell him or her the truth about GA. Write to them. Do it today.”
