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airwise.com wrote:US Rules Out Air Fees On Small Operators
March 7, 2006

The Bush administration on Tuesday ruled out sweeping user fees on general aviation to help maintain the US air traffic control system and help pay for new runways and other aviation programs.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told a House of Representatives hearing that a yet-to-be announced proposal on funding future Federal Aviation Administration priorities does not include user fees for at least some operations by private aircraft.

"There are no user fees imposed on general aviation," Mineta told the appropriations subcommittee on transportation. Mineta would not elaborate after the hearing, saying he had probably said more than he should have about the long-awaited funding proposal currently under review by the White House budget office.

But an agency official later said Mineta's general aviation comments basically covered recreational pilots, thousands of whom ply the skies, mainly in propeller aircraft.

Mineta and his deputies have concluded that the current system of funding most FAA programs through fuel taxes and other fees -- primarily on airlines and their passengers -- is inadequate to meet future commercial and private aviation needs. This includes operating the air traffic control system, modernizing air traffic equipment and helping to fund airport improvements. Domestic airlines are cutting capacity -- available seats -- and fares, meaning less overall revenue to support the aviation infrastructure. The proposed FAA budget for 2007 is USD$13.7 billion.

Marion Blakey, the FAA administrator, has said changes in the overall funding formula would be dramatic. Aviation sources expect a mix of options, including some shift toward user fees. Financing will likely include continued taxation and possibly new bonding initiatives.

The biggest airlines are united behind a user-fee plan for everyone that would make operators of smaller planes, including corporate jets, pay more. This stance is partly aimed at the expected surge in small jet traffic in coming years that could take business away from the carriers and clog the skies with thousands more planes.

Interests representing small private operators say their operations do not tax the air traffic system like the airlines and favor continued fuel tax assessments as a fair way to gauge the impact of private flying.