Airline Bashed GA Via In-flight Magazine

AOPA President Phil Boyer and Northwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson will meet in two weeks to discuss an editorial Anderson recently published for his airline's in-flight magazine, charging that airline passengers subsidize general aviation operations through fees and taxes on airline tickets. Since first learning of the editorial, AOPA has focused on setting up a meeting between Boyer and Anderson in order to clear the air. AOPA refrained from calling for a public letter-writing campaign while efforts to set up the meeting were under way. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts wrote anyway. They spontaneously began besieging Northwest Airlines with letters and e-mails protesting the tone and the misstatements in the edit

Renters Enjoy New Benefits

AVEMCO Insurance Company announced this week that it has expanded its popular Aviator Series line of non-owned insurance products. These changes include a new package offering the Aviator Silver level, and options for pilots to customize liability and property insurance to meet their personal needs. It is estimated that there are as many as 300,000 pilots who currently fly in rented or borrowed airplanes without adequate insurance coverage. These pilots are flying aircraft from FBO 's and flight schools that may carry insurance on their rental fleet; however, that insurance usually covers only the interests of the FBO - not of the rental pilot.