Five GA Leaders Discuss a Common Solution

by ANN Correspondent Mark Sletten

Five big names in the general aviation (GA) community sat Tuesday at AirVenture for a panel discussion hosted by EAA President Paul Poberezny at the Sporty's pavilion. Jack Pelton, Chairman and CEO of Cessna, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President Ed Bolen, Phil Boyer, President of the Aircraft Owner's and Pilot's Association (AOPA), Cirrus co-founder and CEO Alan Klapmeier, and Pete Bunce, President of the General Aviation Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) chose AirVenture as the forum to present a united front in the face of growing concerns over FAA user fees.

EAA's president started the discussion with a strong statement of solidarity that met with applause from the audience. "Let's start by defining GA; it's ultralights, LSA, piston singles, twins, turbines, business jets... we're all in this together."

Cessna's Pelton emphasized that "we must take this seriously," because the situation is different from past attempts at instituting user fees. He stated user fees are clearly meant to benefit the Airline Transport Association (ATA) and the airlines at the expense of GA... even going so far as to describe them as GA' "enemy."

What's their motivation? Says Pelton, "Since 9/11 busy people are tired of dealing with long lines at security and flight delays; the airlines are clearly losing business to GA." He questioned why GA should pay a higher percentage of the costs for the ATC system when clearly it's designed to support airline operations.

"The major costs for ATC revolve around the airline-developed hub and spoke system, which GA doesn't use," Pelton added.

"Shift cost, control the system... that's the heart of ATA's Smart Skies proposal," said NBAA's Bolen. He says the ATA believes, and would like everyone else to believe, that "a blip is a blip" and all aircraft in the system should be treated (and charged, of course) equally. This despite the fact that airliners are clearly treated differently in the ATC system. "User fees are a form of tax, and if we're not vigilant the ATA will tax [some] users out of the system."

Mr. Boyer described how Jim May of the ATA told him that non-turbine aircraft are "off the hook" and piston singles, the bulk of AOPA's membership won't pay anything. "This is simply an attempt to 'divide and conquer'; we must stand together," he said to more applause.

"Imagine hearing, 'Cessna 123, you're cleared to land 18L... as soon as I get your credit card number, expiration date and PIN,'" Boyer said. "This is not the way we want to do business with the FAA."

Boyer went on to describe how user fee programs have decimated GA in countries around the world. In one tragic case, a New Zealand GA pilot was lost for several weeks before search and rescue personnel were able to locate his body after he crashed in a remote region. The pilot's wife told officials her husband hadn't filed a flight plan, which might have saved his life, because he'd wanted to avoid the fees involved. Boyer urged everyone in the audience to let their political representatives know how they feel about user fees, "Congress shouldn't allow the airlines to control America's airspace system."

Cirrus' Alan Klapmeier called ATA's Smart Skies proposal "disingenuous."

"They are telling the public that GA should pay to use the airspace system as if we aren't already paying via a fuel tax," said Klapmeier. "We believe it's not about whether or not we should pay, but how we determine everyone's fair share."

He described a dire future in which user fees eliminates users, most likely GA users, which, in turn, means higher fees for the remaining users. "It's a downward spiral that benefits only one agency, the ATA."
 
GAMA's Bunce explained how system costs are a function of salaries. "As the system becomes more complex training costs increase. Consequently, the value of personnel increases and salaries must grow to compensate. System complexity is a function of the number of planes in a particular area. Putting a lot of planes in a small area is a complex undertaking and the associated costs should be paid by those who need that service, specifically the airlines."

Bunce said that GA users comprise only 6% of the operations at the 35 major hub airports that serve the airlines. "Not one of those 35 airports is on the list of the top twenty airports serving GA -- we don't operate where they do."

Bunce believes that when considering GA's share of system costs GA's investment in modernization must be considered. "These technologies will reduce ATC's workload and eventually we all benefit, including ATA." He expressed his displeasure that ATA discusses user fees as if they were a fait accompli, "Before any discussion of user fees we must determine costs. To this point there's been no discussion of how much this will all cost. We have to emphasize that airlines create the complexity and drive the costs."

He also reminded the audience that when GA was banned from Washington Reagan National airport following 9/11, ATC's workload remained the same.

During the Q&A following the panel's comments an audience member noted that the airlines pass on their passenger taxes to their customers. "We'll pay user taxes whether we use our own planes or fly on the airlines." Another attendee asked if anyone had estimated how much user fees might actually cost.

Ed Bolen calculated if you distributed the $2 billion shortfall claimed by the FAA among GA's turbine fleet each user would pay approximately $100,000.

So what can you do? "Keep it pithy and personal," advised Bolen, "Tell your congressman it's about control, not blips. The airlines want to pay less, but control more. If the airlines want user fees they should give the ticket tax they collect from their passengers back to their passengers."

FMI: www.gama.aero, www.aopa.org, www.nbaa.org