1) The topic in aviation I
chose to consider that I feel will have the greatest impact on my career choice
would be user aviation fees. The general
aviation pilots already are paying for ramp fees and gas when traveling as a
hobby because they enjoy aviation. The NBAA has supported opposing the $100 per-flight
user fee proposed in the administration's fiscal 2013 budget. The Obama administration has imposed
introducing another user fee which the NBAA is currently opposing.
This article from the NBAA thanks congress for opposing the aviation user fee introduced by the Obama
administration. In the letter, the
Representatives told the President that commercial and general aviation,
including the manufacturing sector, are vital industries providing millions of
jobs. "We should work together to support policies that encourage job
growth and strengthen U.S. economic activity," the Representatives wrote.
"Imposing a $100 per flight fee on commercial and general aviation is the
wrong approach, and we respectfully request that you abandon this idea once and
for all."
The general
aviation community has long supported the well-established and efficient fuel
tax now paid for use of the aviation system. At the same time, the industry has
long opposed new user fees, which would require a large bureaucracy for
management and collection of the fees, and would also impose an onerous
compliance burden on many small and mid-size businesses that rely on aircraft
for business.
2) The Obama
administration has imposed introducing another user fee which the NBAA is
currently opposing. The NBAA is concerned that this new aviation user
fee being introduced will put a burden in general aviation. General Aviation pilots are already paying
for fuel charges at an efficient per-gallon amount. They feel the this will create a costly new
federal collection bureaucracy. They state that the current way of collecting
fuel fees is efficient and fair. There
is no simpler and more accurate way to distinguish between heavy and light
users of the system than to measure the amount of fuel burned. Small aircraft
use less fuel and pay lower taxes; large aircraft use more fuel and pay higher
taxes. If an aircraft flies a longer distance, it will pay more in fuel fees. In addition they mention fuel fees impact on
the environment as well, A surcharge on fuel use provides an incentive for
general aviation users to purchase newer, cleaner, quieter and more
fuel-efficient aircraft. Additionally, fuel fees by their nature penalize
operators that use congested airports which require more fuel use for increased
taxi and air time.
3) I feel this issue could
affect my career choice wanting to be employed at a local airport, as the
manager. It could also be a factor in
being able to become an Operations Manager at a larger, mid-sized airport. Imposing
additional user fees on general aviation pilots will discourage people from
getting involved in this expensive industry.
This could affect people just starting to take lessons or fly realizing
there are older less expensive aircraft available to purchase, which are more
affordable. Once they discover the many
additional user fees involved with the hobby or industry it may turn them
away. This in turn would affect the
local airport manger, if fewer people are operating on the field. It could also affect the larger airports
where people might travel for dinner or lunch by the user fees turning them
away resulting in a reduction of business.
