Calls Funding Proposal "Big Airlines' FAA Plan"

In an open letter to members of the National Business Aviation Association last week, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen urged members to "take action now" in getting the message out about the dangers user fees pose to business aviation.

"[R]ecent news excerpts.... demonstrate that airline lobbying has succeeded in getting the FAA to unveil a funding plan that gives the giant airlines a major tax break while imposing massive tax hikes and onerous new user fees on the businesses that rely on general aviation," Bolen wrotes. "The airlines' FAA plan also dramatically reduces Congressional authority over the air traffic system, gives airlines a bigger say in FAA operations, and establishes a huge new multi-billion dollar bureaucracy to assess and collect user fees."

Bolen (shown below) says NBAA is fighting the "toxic mix" of tax increases, user fees and airline power... but ultimate success depends on members telling their representatives in government how they feel.

"Your elected officials need to hear from you about the airlines' FAA proposal, because you can be sure that every Member of Congress is hearing from the big airlines and their army of lobbyists," Bolen writes, adding members can go to a dedicated website (available at the FMI link below) for more information on how to do so.

"I also urge you to forward this email to others you know who care about the future of business aviation in the United States," Bolen adds. "Encourage them to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. If we act collectively, we can not only defeat the big airlines' FAA plan, but modernize our air traffic control system to ensure that all Americans have access to the largest, safest and most efficient aviation system in the world."

FMI: www.nbaa.org/userfees