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NBAA denounces attack on general aviation

June 24, 2008, Washington, DC – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today dismissed a report attacking general aviation as inaccurate and out of touch with the critical role small business aircraft play in supporting jobs, transportation and economic activity in communities across the country.

According to NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, the attacks, included in a document released earlier today by two Washington organizations, “start with a ridiculous caricature of general aviation that has been heavily promoted by the airlines, but bears no relationship to reality. Then, it throws a barrage of baseless, over-the-top claims against the wall to see if anything sticks. In the end, none of the allegations stick, because the report is both inaccurate and distorted.”

Bolen cited several examples as illustrative of the inaccuracies and distortions in the report.

For instance:

The report says “travel has expanded dramatically” when industry flight hours are basically flat.
 
The report infers that general aviation aircraft are the only business equipment eligible for accelerateddepreciation, when in fact all significant capital equipment is eligiblefor accelerated depreciation.

The report suggests that U.S.passenger airlines pay 95 percent of the air traffic control costs when they actually pay 77 percent of those costs.

The report praises European user fees based on aircraft weight and distance flown, but ignores the fact that general aviation fuel taxes reflect aircraft weight and distance flown without requiring a new government collection bureaucracy. The report alsofails to acknowledge that the fuel tax creates incentives for development and use of cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient engines.

The report questions general aviation security when in fact, the industry has worked with the Transportation Security Administration since 9/11 to institute a host of general aviation security measures.

Bolen went on to say: “This report is 30 pages of nothing but outrageous claims and the warmed-over rhetoric used by the nation’s big airlines. It is unfortunate that at a time when businesses are struggling and communities are losing air service, we see political screed masquerading as a policy report.”

About the NBAA
Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association, Inc. (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 8,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world's largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.