Participants See Positive Signs For A Slow Industry
Recovery
More than 100 FBO and airport professionals gathered this
week at the National Air Transportation Association's (NATA)
annual FBO Leadership Conference (FBOLC) in Savannah, Georgia. The
two-day event began on Monday with a general aviation leadership
lunch and ended Tuesday with a session to segue into the NBAA
Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference, February 9-11, at the
Savannah Convention Center.
In the opening session, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
(AOPA) President and CEO Craig Fuller said that general aviation is
in the "best of times and worst of times." In the positive column,
collaboration among the general aviation associations and the
General Aviation Caucus are playing tremendous roles in
strengthening the industry. Among the negatives are continued
challenges with the economy and budget, but Fuller, NATA President
and CEO James K. Coyne and National Business Aviation Association
(NBAA) Senior Vice President Steve Brown all agreed that they are
seeing positive signs in the industry and are becoming more
optimistic about the economy.
NATA's James Coyne
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) welcomed FBOLC attendees to
Georgia and mentioned several general aviation positives in this
region, including a $5 million expansion at Gulfstream and the
creation of new jobs. Former Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) praised
Coyne and NATA for keeping him and others informed on what general
aviation does and for making positive changes in the relationship
between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the private
sector. Coyne encouraged attendees to enlist his help in organizing
and leading local meetings with Members of Congress, county
officials, customers and others to continue the crucial work of
promoting the importance of general aviation and what it does.
TSA General Manager of General Aviation Security Brian Delauter
announced that changes are coming for the DCA Access Standard
Security Program (DASSP). All operators who are currently approved
as gateway airports to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
should contact their personal security specialist by March 1, 2012,
for updated information. Delauter also encouraged those interested
in participating in the DASSP to reach out to their local TSA
office to learn more about the program. NATA Director of Safety and
Training Amy Koranda emphasized that NATA's Safety 1st program is
more than just its Professional Line Service Training (PLST) Online
Program. Koranda explained that included within the NATA Safety 1st
program are Flight Crew Briefings, Operational Best Practices,
Safety Management Systems (SMS) for ground and air, workshops, and
webinars as well as a new ground audit standard that will be
introduced this spring. On the topic of SMS, Koranda said that an
SMS is a business plan for safety, explaining, "It is critical for
a business to be engaged in the development of an SMS program. A
canned manual is not an ideal solution to encourage employee
engagement, nor will it reflect your business." Coyne added,
"NATA's Safety 1st SMS should be more than you need to be FAA
compliant. NATA's Safety 1st SMS is ICAO compliant, and that is
what the FAA is looking to as a model."
And NATA Director of Regulatory Affairs Michael France and AOPA
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman discussed the
factors behind the Avgas issue and gave a status report on where
the issue now stands. Hackman and France outlined the purpose of
the formation of the Avgas Coalition that includes NATA, AOPA and
NBAA along with other leading aviation organizations. The mission
of the coalition is to collaborate, coordinate and provide
leadership on the development and implementation of the process by
which an unleaded avgas solution will be identified. Among the most
important points to remember are that this is a multi-year process,
no date has been set to ban 100LL gas, everything is being taken
into consideration and we have to get this right because the
outcome will affect future generations. Most importantly, since
this issue will take a number of years to resolve, the industry
must stay engaged.
A panel including FAA Manager of the Airport Compliance
Division, Airport Compliance and Field Operations Branch, Kevin
Willis, Nantucket Memorial Airport Manager Al Peterson and McBreen
& Kopko Partner Leonard Kirsch discussed the value of airport
minimum standards to the future of businesses. Willis listed
airport minimum standards as one of the five key tools that the FAA
recommends to airport managers and businesses. He said that among
the benefits of minimum standards is helping to maintain the
quality of service, ensuring an open and competitive field,
protecting airport users, establishing a process for development of
the airport and promoting safety. Kirsch added that comprehensive
and inclusive minimum standards can be the best friend of an
airport and FBO. He also advocated that, at a minimum, minimum
standards should be reviewed periodically. Peterson added that
minimum standards can be changed, but apply to aeronautical
purposes only and are for future development, not existing
conditions.
"The 2011 NATA FBO Leadership Conference provided a robust lineup
of issues important to the association's member companies,"
concluded Coyne. "I was thrilled with the participation level and
involvement by attendees at each of our sessions."