A Bigger Tent for All Business Fliers
(continued) Though the association has grown beyond anything the visionaries who gathered at a New York hotel in 1946 could have ever imagined, Bolen says it is not enough. In fact, he believes that many of the very core principles of the NBAA are now working against it in the current fight with the airlines over assessing user fees on all who fly in the system. The way Bolen sees it, the very success of the big companies at the core of the NBAA -- at least the impression that big companies are the core -- works against all of business flying when lobbying Congress. Actually, companies who operate a single airplane outnumber the traditional big corporate flight departments on the NBAA membership roles, but that is not the perception either in aviation, or in government.
The problem with this big company perception is that no entity in the country, other than maybe Congress itself, is less admired by the public than big corporations. We all want to root for the little guy, and GE, IBM, Exxon Mobil and the like just aren't sympathetic. For Bolen to appear before Congress to explain why these companies can't afford to pay new fees to fly their multi-million dollar jets in the ATC system just doesn't work. And with oil companies as NBAA members the problem is even worse. And the airlines know it. That's why in their advertisements they use Exxon Mobil as the specific example of why fat cats in their jets should pay more. With reports of Exxon Mobil's record profits, and a new price posted at the pump daily, Congress can only win points by beating up on the company and its flight department.
The only way Bolen can see to modify this situation is to bring everybody who flies for business under the NBAA tent. There are thousands of small companies and entrepreneurs who operate airplanes as a tool in their business. These small businesses or partnerships create jobs and help grow the economy, and using airplanes is key. While the big corporations may span the globe in their jets to manage giant diverse enterprises, the more common use of a business airplane is to fly around a compact region that is not served by the airlines. Typical business flights last about one hour and 15 minutes. And these small companies are not despised by the public, and thus are listened to in Congress. As Bolen points out, every Congressional district has many business aviation-related jobs including the companies that use airplanes, plus the FBOs and others that support their flying.
Bolen is a zealot on this issue, but I'm glad not to be in his shoes. I understand why NBAA needs to move away from dominance by traditional corporate flight departments, but I wonder if the whole range of business aircraft operators can fit under one roof. It makes me think of a club where the golfing members resent the tennis players who also think too much of their money goes into the swimming pool. Clearly NBAA has had enormous success with its focus on turbine airplanes flown to the highest possible standards and that success could be at risk if Bolen's dream comes true.
But Bolen says the public has already lumped us together. When a non-airline airplane comes to the public's attention because it is making noise overhead, has crashed, or is taking the runway ahead of an airliner, nobody cares whether that airplane is a charter, business or corporate flight. That's hard to argue with. Even a Gulfstream is nothing but a "little airplane" to the news media and the public. And it's a given that anybody in any non-airline airplane is wealthy, at least in the public's perception.
To make Bolen's vision of all business aircraft operators gathering under the NBAA banner come true the association is increasing its advertising and direct mail promotions, and it will hold its first Light Business Airplane Exhibition & Conference in San Diego next March 12 to 14. Only companies can join NBAA, but any size or type of company or professional partnership qualifies. And those companies can operate any type of aircraft for business purposes, including piston singles. Dues are modest and scaled by the size and type of your operation.
Maybe the big traditional flight departments can coexist with individual business airplane operators. Perhaps NBAA can help to elevate the professionalism and safety of the businessman pilot. I hope so. But no matter what happens, it's impossible to disagree with Bolen on the key point -- everybody who flies for business already faces the same risks of denial to airport and airspace access that caused the NBAA to be formed in the first place. If you want to join, go to nbaa.org.
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