Worried About Economic Impact Of Proposed Rule Change
The Small Business
Administration has raised serious concerns about the FAA's proposed
charity/sightseeing rule change. The SBA's Office of Advocacy held
a teleconference on Friday after contacting AOPA and numerous other
general aviation industry groups for background information on the
effects of the change.
"Our numbers helped convince the Office of Advocacy that there's
true cause for concern for small general aviation businesses," said
AOPA Director of Regulatory and Certification Policy Luis
Gutierrez. The notice of proposed rule making would, by the FAA's
own estimate, drive hundreds of small sightseeing operators out of
the business and would more than double the number of hours a pilot
must have before being able to fly as part of charity fundraisers,
from 200 to 500 — all this with no likely increase in
safety.
In fact, the airplane accident rate per million flight hours for
sightseeing flights made under FAR Part 91 is nearly one-third
lower than commercial air tours provided under FAR Parts 121 and
135.
"This is a battle for which the industry really needs to come
together, because, in the words of one of the participants, this
rule is an equal opportunity offender," said Gutierrez.
The smaller operators made clear that the FAA's assumptions
about the number of hours Part 91 sightseeing operations are flying
and percent of revenue such flights generate is badly flawed. And
the larger air tour operators stressed that the combined burden of
the cost of compliance and resulting loss of revenue could be
enough to drive some of them out of business as well.
AOPA is helping SBA determine the number of Part 91 operators
affected by the NPRM and how the NPRM would affect their revenues;
determine the cost of implementing the rule; look at how the rule
will affect airfields, flight schools, and charity organizations;
and examine alternatives that would allow the FAA to achieve its
regulatory goals while reducing the burden on small businesses.
SBA also informed participants in Friday's teleconference that
the FAA will hold its "virtual" public meeting Feb. 23-March 5,
2004. The "virtual" public meeting is essentially a chat room where
interested parties may submit questions and comments 24 hours a
day, and the FAA will respond during normal business hours. AOPA
has been pressuring the FAA to hold face-to-face meetings with the
owners of the small businesses they're proposing to put out of
business and will continue to do so.
The SBA Office of Advocacy will use the information from
Friday's teleconference to help shape any potential response to the
FAA on the charity/sightseeing NPRM.