From an article in a local paper...
"We are specifically not charging fees for what we consider safety information like weather and traffic information because we don't want to discourage people from using those important services," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
The user fees only would apply to small aircraft that want to fly into the 30 biggest airports in the country, she said.
The fee for landing and then again for take off, for example, would be $3.86.
The Air Transport Association of America, a trade organization representing the major airlines, said smaller aircraft do not pay their fair share.
The bill "will assure that each user pays its fair share but no more, unlike today where airlines pay for 94 percent of Airport and Airway Trust Fund revenues but only account for 69 percent of all flights," James May, the group's president and CEO, said in recent testimony before a congressional subcommittee.
He stressed that small communities have their own air service needs that should not go unmet.
"We are not saying that small communities should be left to fend for themselves," May said.
What Mrs. Brown and Mr. May fail to mention is small airports with less than 10 based planes will get ZERO funding for airport improvements thereby basically condemning them to no future growth via federal funding, and airports with 10 or more will lose $50,000 a year, one third of the current allocation. And no alternative funding procedure proposed to make up the difference or increase funding. We all know the cost of everything it takes to run and improve an airport is being cut proportionally.....riiiiggghhhttt..
I wonder how much revenue the airlines generate compared to GA, and who foots the bill for both....for the slow of thought, the airlines don't pay diddly, they roll that into their fares. Sorry ATP types out there, but I must be really dense, as the proposed logic simply escapes me. But I guess if I could dump the cost of doing business on some other competitor for seat miles I'd try to do the same.
Only commercial vehicles on the interstate next? Anybody do a proportional traffic count there? Anybody want to?
Rant....not off...just paused....
