FAA issues guidance on FBO pricing
AOPA applauds first steps to transparency
Following AOPA’s initiative to ensure reasonable FBO pricing and transparency, the FAA issued guidance for pilots, FBOs, and airport sponsors. “Q&As—FBO Industry Consolidation and Pricing Practices” lays out a series of questions and answers addressing how federally funded airports should facilitate competition and transparency, as well as promote reasonable access and pricing. As a condition of receiving federal funding for development projects, airports must agree to protect public access to the airport by ensuring each FBO’s prices and fees are reasonable and not unjustly discriminatory.
AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker said the FAA’s initiative in publishing this document is an important and welcome first step in highlighting these issues and assisting communities and airports in developing policies that will ensure fair and transparent pricing and reasonable airport access.
The FAA guidance directly addresses mergers and industry consolidation. AOPA has found that many of the most-complained-about FBOs are involved in relatively recent industry consolidations. The FAA notes that “FBO acquisitions or mergers may trigger anti-competitive concerns.” The FAA also outlined a series of actions airport sponsors can take to address high pricing that may result from consolidation.
www.aopa.org/pilot/fbo-pricing
AOPA supports medical reform going global
Nations around the world are moving forward to improve the medical qualification process for general aviation pilots. Australia is the latest country to adopt new medical qualifications and allow GA pilots to visit a general practitioner, similar to the United States’ BasicMed.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) announced that the Basic Class 2 medical would apply to piston aircraft with up to five nonpaying passengers, during daytime visual flight rules operations. The medical will be valid for a maximum of five years for pilots under 40 years old and a maximum of two years for pilots over age 40. Australia’s Basic Class 2 medical comes just six months after BasicMed went live; it already has nearly 25,000 U.S. pilots flying under the new program.
Australia marks the latest country to engage in medical reform. AOPA continues to work with aviation authorities in the Bahamas, Canada, and Mexico to recognize BasicMed.
AOPA opposes funding cap on veterans’ flight training
A bill to improve educational assistance to veterans in flight training programs contains needed measures to streamline the funding process, but also mandates a payment cap that could leave veterans without enough funds to complete training, said a coalition of aviation organizations in a letter to a House committee. AOPA President Mark Baker and leaders of seven other aviation organizations called on the bipartisan leadership of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to “remove the discriminatory cap on flight training” from H.R.4149 and “to keep the promises that will allow veterans their choice of career. Capping funds available for flight training degree programs virtually guarantees that veterans seeking to use their GI Bill benefits to enter the aviation industry will have insufficient funds to achieve their goals. They will either abandon their pursuit or be burdened with significant personal debt through either expenditure of personal funds or taking on of student loans. This will harm veterans and limit their employment opportunities in the aviation industry,” said the aviation groups.
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