With avgas prices hovering between $5 and $7 a gallon and auto gas prices double that of a year ago, nearly three-quarters of AOPA members have scaled back their flight time.
Looking for any way to assist members in what is becoming an aviation fuel crisis, AOPA joined a new, rapidly growing coalition late this week that is led by the transportation industry to do just that: Stop Oil Speculation Now (S.O.S. Now).
The coalition acknowledges, “We need to increase domestic supply, oil exploration, alternative energy sources, and conservation. But we also need fair markets, curbing excessive speculation with tough, fair rules that protect consumers and lower prices.”
“It’s obvious that something needs to be done to lower the cost of fuel,” said AOPA President Phil Boyer. “We’ve joined this effort that is quickly gaining momentum, and we hope that it ultimately creates a national energy policy that Congress can adopt.
“Strange bedfellows,” Boyer acknowledged, since support for S.O.S. Now began with the airlines (AOPA members may receive e-mails from airline frequent flier groups). However, it has quickly expanded to the nation’s airports, bus and trucking associations, organized labor groups, and the petroleum marketers association. Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have also joined the list of supporters.
“We’re all frustrated with these high prices, and this is a step in the right direction to do something about it,” Boyer said.
