AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018 - 12

AOPA ACTION

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.
www.aopa.org/pilot/globalmed

12 | AOPA PILOT February 2018

BAKER ON
THE NEWS
"We appreciate the FAA making
an effort to clarify the responsibilities and available options
in preserving airport access,
improving fee transparency, and
ensuring public-use airports
comply with grant obligations.
We look forward to furthering
our work with the industry to
ensure that FBOs are profitable
and airport sponsors are able to
meet their grant obligations."
-AOPA President Mark Baker

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.
www.aopa.org/pilot/veteranflighttraining

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/fbo-pricing http://www.aopa.org/pilot/globalmed http://www.aopa.org/pilot/veteranflighttraining

AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018