Jetwhine

Aviation buzz and bold opinion

Business Aviation

No User Fees for GA … Yet

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I was trying to explain some of the subtleties behind the word altruism to my daughter this morning at breakfast, and it made me think about the fight against aviation user fees.

And yes, we have a few truly interesting family meals around our house. Those dine-ins are, in fact, a large part of what my wife and I see as our responsibility as parents, to sit down at least a couple of times each week to find out what’s happening with our family in general, especially our daughter. We don’t know for sure they help, but we believe in the process enough to make the effort.

Altruistic deed-doers make the effort because they believe it’s the right move for their family or their community. And they don’t expect a reward at the other end for their labors either. [Read more…] about No User Fees for GA … Yet

Biz Jets Merely a Pawn in Wealth Wars

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With her saucy style, Gail Collins is one of my favorite New York Times Op-Ed authors. This week she wrote about “The Best Perk in Politics.” Naturally, she’s talking about business jets and all the free rides Rick Perry took on them. After a fleeting aero-centric thought of how the industry would defend itself against the latest attack, I cogitated on conflict’s root causes and supporting players.

First, biz jets are a pawn in our political, social, and financial debates because they are an immediately understood symbol that separates those with the power and influence money buys from everyone else. Yes, as a member of the aviation clan I fully understand and support all the good business aviation provides, and the livelihoods it supports. But these boring realities are lost in the wordy gale of accusations and counter claims.

Collins succinctly described why biz jets are the ideal symbol in the wealth wars. “And you have to admit: private jets are the best. When you get to the airport, they’re waiting for you. You can keep your shoes on. Nobody tells you to turn off your Kindle until the plane has reached cruising altitude. It’s the one rich-person perk I truly, desperately envy.”

She and the millions of people subjected to the TSA security show who must also endure the airlines’ crass treatment and pocket-picking fees. A spurious question: Do rich and powerful airline execs have biz jets, or do they fly coach like their paying customers?

Still, being an envied yet despised symbol is not good for aviation and the people who make their livings from it. But, realistically, biz jets will forever be a symbol, a pawn in the wealth wars. As everyone knows, aerial corporate transport is but a tool, and how it is perceived depends on how their owners use them. Until this changes, business aviation will always be a topic for op-ed authors and others. — Scott Spangler

Mr. Babbitt Needs to Get in Shape

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Some functions come naturally to most humans, eating, sleeping, even defending ourselves … at least most of the time. But the message the House of Representatives just sent FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt with passage of the European Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 is pretty clear. Our administrator needs to find a sparing partner and get himself in shape for the scuffles ahead with Europe.

For years, the European Union has promoted its plan to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint anywhere in the group’s 21-nation states, despite the fact that research shows this industry contributes far less to global warming than just about any other segment such as automobiles — between two and three percent by most calculations.

No matter. It’s their union and they are free to make their own choices. Problem is that this new EU plan will significantly affect our industry here in the states because the EU intends to hold every country responsible for complying with their carbon trading scheme if they fly into EU airspace.

Most other countries are having a little heartburn with the plan, as is ICAO, the United Nations body focused on aviation that believes one country or one region setting it’s own standards – higher or lower than the rest of the world – is a rally bad idea, and one that will be enormously difficult to enforce. [Read more…] about Mr. Babbitt Needs to Get in Shape

Corporate Terror BARR None

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The Department of Transportation’s recent notice that it will dismantle most the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, which hides corporate aircraft activity from online flight-tracking programs, has caused quite a stir.

Aviation’s alphabet organizations have risen up against the transparency initiatives the feds have used to justify the change. Trusted voices in the aviation grapevine suggest that DOT Secretary Ray LaHood had his own reasons for voting yes on the dropping the curtain.  NBAA administers BARR for its 3,000 members, and it says removing the veil of privacy from corporate operations “gives anyone in the world — terrorist, criminal, tabloid stalker, business competitor — the equivalent of an Internet homing device to track the movements of citizens and companies in real time.”

Perhaps, but I don’t buy it. One source does not make or break a plot to get someone. Flight trackers show where an airplane is going, not who’s on it. The skeptic in me thinks something else more sinister is behind it all. First, remember the seemingly endless negative PR storm that followed when CEOs seeking a government handout arrived in their expensive corporate carriages. Then think about the ardor with which corporate America fights any manner of regulation.

Okay, with memory refreshed, ask yourself this question: What scares our corporate aristocracy more than any terrorist, criminal, tabloid stalker, or business competitor? How about close scrutiny of their activities by, in increasing levels of terror, the public, the government, and—gasp!—their shareholders.

BARR hides corporate flight activity, but not deep enough to keep it safe from a Freedom of Information Act request. That’s how the Wall Street Journal got its hands on the “records of every private aircraft flight recorded in the FAA’s air-traffic management system for the four years form 2007 to 2010.” The headline of their research and analysis of this data says it all: For the Highest Fliers, New Scrutiny.

The reporters summarized their findings this way: “Those with access to private jets fly around the globe on a whim, steering clear of security lines and never being charged extra for baggage.”

[Read more…] about Corporate Terror BARR None

Bombardier Q400 Grounding: Could it Happen to Business Aviation?

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I wonder how surprised the people at Bombardier actually were this weekend that SAS decided to permanently ground its fleet of 27 Q400 turboprops after a third landing gear accident in a month. The decision was announced Sunday as confidence in the aircraft fell to the lowest point ever among SAS passengers according to company chief executive Mats Jansson.

A commercial aircraft grounding like this hasn’t occurred in decades (Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images) since the FAA grounded the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. But that, of course, was fleetwide. One DC-10 problem was design related, while another was eventually tracked back to an unorthodox maintenance procedure on the part of American Airlines.

So what in the world happened at SAS that has not occurred at Horizon here in the states, an airline that has successfully flown Q-400s for years? Notice that SAS did not call the aircraft unsafe. [Read more…] about Bombardier Q400 Grounding: Could it Happen to Business Aviation?