GA Groups Press Ahead Toward Day in Court on BARR

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The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) announced that, following a court's decision not to suspend the government's looming deadline for curtailing the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, the three associations will move ahead expeditiously toward a full hearing on the matter.
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Municipalities Competing with Private FBOs: Fair or Foul?

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As many of you are aware, over the past couple of years there has been an effort by a number of municipal airport managements in the United States interested in entering the aviation services business where private enterprise providers already exist.

It’s a political hot potato to be sure. No one is suggesting that municipal airport-managed FBOs should not exist. There have always been airport-managed FBOs providing essential services at small and large airports, and for good reasons.

The controversy arises when a municipal airport authority decides to either compete with or edge out an existing private FBO enterprise. This begs the question: Is it fair, or is it foul? To answer this question, let’s examine both sides of the issue.

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FAA Agrees to Extend Deadline for Paperwork to Remain in BARR Program

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After being notified that general aviation operator groups plan to challenge changes to the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on July 1, 2011, agreed to extend from July 5, 2011, to July 14, 2011, the deadline for owner/operators to submit paperwork to remain in the program "for the convenience of the Court." For the moment, the implementation date for the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) planned changes remains August 2, 2011.
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NBAA Tells White House, Media: President’s Remarks About Business Aviation Misleading, Inaccurate

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National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen sent a strongly worded letter to President Barak Obama expressing dismay at the disparaging remarks about business aviation made by the President in a June 29 press conference, and vowed to oppose any White House policy that harms the industry.
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GAIIC Members Discuss How to Stimulate Private Investment in Airports

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On Monday, the Airports Council International (ACI) held a Small Airports Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.  At the invitation of ACI, members of the General Aviation Infrastructure and Investment Coalition (GAIIC) engaged in a discussion with the airport community regarding how to stimulate private investment in airports by allowing fixed-base operators (FBOs) to take advantage of current commercial tax rules and lending practices.
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Reeling in Customers: Either Fish, or Cut Bait

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I have returned from a much needed vacation to the Canadian outback where I enjoyed a week of fishing with no phone, TV or newspaper.

Every year, I travel to the far western reaches of Ontario for our annual fish camp outing that has been a part of my family tradition since 1961, when my father first went with his buddies to the same waters we fish today. I started going with my dad in 1984, and now his 16-year-old great-grandson, my grand nephew, is representing the fourth generation to wet a line in these great Northern waters.

On this most recent outing, I started to think about writing a blog post based on the similarities between fishing for dinner and casting a net for new FBO customers.

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