User Fees

This morning is the last day of NBAA. It has been an exciting show. There are tens of thousands of attendees walking the aisles of the Atlanta convention center, seeing all the latest business aviation products and services. As expected, the hot topic at the show has been user fees. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the FAA reauthorization bill last week without user fee provisions. Instead, it uses an increase in fuel taxes to provide increased revenue for the FAA to upgrade the nations air traffic control system. The Senate is expected to pass its version soon, which will probably incorporate a user fee provision. The bills will then go to conference between the House and Senate to iron out differences and present the modified bill to both the House and Senate. Then it is off to the President for approval. The Air Transport Association (ATA) is not happy about the House version. It is lobbying strongly to have a user fee-based funding system, saying it is time for private jets to pay their fair shair of the nations air traffic control system. NBAA and other general aviation associations say airlines are the cause for the congestion at the nation's airports, not general aviation. Those associations continue the lobbying effort against user fees, pushing for a modest increase in fuel taxes as a more equitable way to increase funding. So, what are your thoughts on user fees? How do you feel user fees would affect the industry, and specifically general aviation maintenance jobs? Thanks for reading, Joe Escobar