The clash of the titan lobbies over the possible roll-out of airspace user fees in the USA has taken to the airwaves and airways as Congress prepares to debate a new funding mechanism for the Federal Aviation Administration later this year.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines, carriers represented under the umbrella of the Air Transport Association lobby, are the latest contributors to a misinformation campaign that blames general aviation and specifically corporate aviation, for higher ticket prices air traffic delays.
The FAA has proposed a fee structure - favoured by the airlines - which will replace the ticket taxes, segment fees and fuel taxes an airline pays with a user fee based largely on time spent in the air traffic system starting in 2009. The agency says user fees will provide a stable funding stream to implement the next generation air transport system (NextGen). Under the current system, the taxes generate about 80% of the FAA's $14 billion yearly budget, but revenue stream is tied to the uncertainty in ticket prices. Carriers say they pay 94% of the costs to run the system, but only use 68% of the services, and as a result, are subsidising GA to the tune of about $2 billion a year.
The latest barbs are hitting airline seatbacks inside the covers on in-flight magazines. AOPA cites an editorial by Northwest Airlines senior vice-president for corporate affairs Andrea Fischer Newman in the latest Northwest magazine that surmises: "Every ticket you buy helps to subsidise corporate aviation." The print ads join CNN commercials that have been shown at prominent delay-prone airports, like Newark Liberty International, one of the three primary airports serving New York City, blaming corporate aviation for the delays that travellers are experiencing.
The argument is being counterbalanced by the GA lobbies, fronted by the AOPA and a new umbrella organisation called the Alliance for Aviation Across America, both of which say the airline hub and spoke system is to blame for the majority of the system costs.
GA currently pays a fuel surcharge, which advocates say is an effective measure of time in the system, is straightforward to implement and is adequately funding NextGen.
Source: Flight International
