Apparently, FAA/system reauthorization is about to happen, first on a short-term extension (Can you say 23rd extension?) and then on a longer term reauthorization, expected to occur in February, say optimists.
U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-FL), chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, says in a release, “With this extension in place, Congress can now bring to conclusion a long-overdue FAA bill. This should be a bipartisan, bicameral effort. Improvements to our nation’s aviation infrastructure, modernization of our air traffic control system, and reform of FAA programs are almost five years overdue. A long-term bill will set national aviation policy and have a major impact on jobs.”
Adds Aviation Subcommittee chair Tom Petri (R-WI). “Let this be the last extension, to be followed by a long-sought reauthorization of the FAA. We must not delay any longer when it comes to air traffic control modernization and other vital initiatives.”
The short-term extension (H.R. 3800) now goes before the Senate. The bill is a simple extension of FAA programs through February 17, 2012, and contains no additional policy provisions.
Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service reported Tuesday that its outlook for the U.S. airport sector is negative, citing the sluggish economic recovery that limits enplanement growth; continued airline consolidation that will result in reduced seat capacity; and the impasse over long-term FAA/system reauthorization.
Says Moody’s in a release, “Airport financials have weakened. Airport financial health remains resilient, but the difficult conditions of 2008 through 2011 have reduced financial flexibility. We see financial metrics declining in 2012, or remaining flat at best.
“Moody’s expects the credit impacts of these factors to depend on the trajectory of the U.S. and global economies and does not expect the sector to stabilize until consistent positive enplanement growth is achieved. The sector outlook has been negative since August 2008 and we expect it to remain negative until enplanement growth reaches a sustained growth rate of +3 percent or higher.”
Finally, the National Air Transportation Association reports that South Carolina state senator Phil P. Leventis (D - Sumter and Lee Counties) has introduced legislation (S. 1109) to prohibit fixed base operators in the state from charging a fee, including a ramp fee, on aircraft that use their facility but do not purchase any services. In a recent blog entitled “Nonsense in South Carolina”, NATA’s director of regulatory affairs Mike France writes, “FBOs cost a lot of money to build and maintain, and these businesses have every right to recoup their costs and make a reasonable return on their investment. In some locations, due to local market conditions, ramp fees play an important role in that business model. Using the power of the state legislature to treat FBOs as if they are a public accommodation is wrong.”
As France further notes, “Considering Senator Leventis’s bio, including his time as an airport manager and supporter of small businesses, we can hope he will come to his senses and recognize that micromanaging a small business from the state house is a recipe for disaster.”
One can only surmise the good senator from South Carolina is pitching for a post in the Obama Administration.
Thanks for reading. jfi
(To view Mike France’s full blog, visit http://nataspolicyplaybook.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/nonsense-in-south-carolina/.)
