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NATA Airline Services Council
NATA formed the Airline Services Council (NATA ASC) to further the interests of companies that provide services to scheduled air carriers as their primary business. The primary goal of the NATA ASC is to provide a voice within the public policy arena, especially in terms of issues that impact their viability and profitability.. |
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Professional Line Service Training |
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PLST Online provides the most up-to-date training available for line service specialists – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Line service supervisors can conduct the new PLST Online training anytime and from anywhere there is access to the Web. continued |
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| Mark Your Calendars For Upcoming NATA Airline Services Council Meetings! |
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| The association has published its 2010 NATA Airline Services Council (ASC) event calendar. All NATA ASC members are encouraged to take advantage of these important in-person and teleconference meetings focusing on the wide array of issues confronting the ground handling industry.
To view the 2010 NATA ASC Event Calendar, please click here. | |
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| EPA Formally Extends Comment Period For De-ice Effluent Limitation Guidelines |
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| As noted in an earlier edition of the NATA ASC Monthly Update, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has, at the request of the NATA, Air Transport Association (ATA), Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA), American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA), reconsidered its earlier denial of a comment period extension and decided to extend the comment period of the proposed Deice Effluent Limitations Guidelines to February 26, 2010.
The EPA has finalized this decision with a notice in the Federal Register, available here.
The letter from NATA, ATA, ACI-NA, AAAE and RAA is available to view here. | |
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| NATA Provides Comments On FAA Through-The-Fence Guidance |
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| Recently, NATA provided comments to the FAA on the draft Compliance Guide Letter 2009-1, Through-the-Fence and On-Airport Residential Access at Federally Obligated Airports. The draft Compliance Guide Letter, when finalized, will provide guidance to FAA Airports Compliance staff on airport sponsors' responsibilities and requirements regarding through-the-fence (TTF) agreements and on-airport residential access.
The draft guide letter explains that the FAA does not generally support or encourage TTF agreements as they often can lead to grant assurance violations by airport sponsors. For the few situations where the FAA feels that TTF agreements are acceptable, the guide letter provides a detailed list of provisions that should be included in the agreement.
NATA's comments generally support the FAA position, but ask the agency to cooperate closely with industry stakeholders to ensure that the prohibition of residential TTF agreements does not harm certain federally obligated airports.
A copy of the draft Compliance Guide Letter can be viewed here.
A copy of NATA's comments is available here. | |
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| Congress Extends FAA Reauthorization Legislation, Yet Again |
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| The glimmer of hope that existed in the past few weeks for final passage of long-term legislation to reauthorize the FAA in the U.S. Senate has been extinguished. On December 10, 2009, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to continue funding the FAA through March 31, 2010. H.R. 4217 extends aviation taxes and revenues that fund the federal programs of the FAA. The FAA has been operating under a series of extensions since its authorization expired in 2007. The current extension expires December 31.
H.R. 4217 provides $2 billion in contract authority for the Airport Improvement Program through the end of March to enable airports to move forward with safety and capacity projects. When legislation to authorize the FAA is annualized, this amount is usually close to $4 billion. In addition, H.R. 4217 extends the aviation excise taxes that are necessary to support the Airport and Airways Trust Fund, a substantial portion of the FAA's budget.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a re-authorization bill in May, but the Senate did not complete its version of the bill due to a full calendar consisting mainly of health care reform legislation. | |
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| Congress Approves Transportation Funding For FY 2010 |
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| Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate agreed on a final conference report titled Consolidated Appropriations legislation (H.R. 3288) that included five unfinished appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2010, including the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Conferees agreed on $77 billion for the DOT, including $15.992 billion for the FAA, a 3.4 percent increase over FY 09. The FAA's largest account is the operations budget, which includes the Airport and Airways Trust Fund reduced from $5.238 billion to $4 billion. An increase was given to the general fund share of the FAA's budget, $5.3 billion.
For the fifth year in a row, the Airport Improvement Program was funded at the same level of $3.515 billion.
A detailed legislative report on this bill will be available at www.nata.aero shortly. | |
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| NATA And AEA Partner On Comment Tool For Repair Station Security NPRM |
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| The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled Aircraft Repair Station Security. The TSA was tasked by Congress, in the Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, with creating regulations aimed at enhancing security for FAA certificated Part 145 repair stations.
This NPRM would require any repair station, foreign or domestic, certificated under 14 CFR Part 145 to carry out a standard security program consisting of:
- Access controls for the facility, aircraft and/or aircraft components
- Measures for identifying individuals with access to the facility, aircraft and/or aircraft components
- Procedures for challenging unauthorized individuals
- Security awareness training for employees
- The name of the facility's designated security coordinator
- A contingency plan
- The means to verify employee background information
NATA and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) have partnered to produce a comment tool to assist their members in preparing and submitting comments on the NPRM to the TSA. The comment tool provides instructions on formatting and submitting official comments to the TSA along with a detailed review of specific areas of the NPRM on which members may want to comment.
The member comment tool is an invaluable resource for repair stations wishing to provide input to the TSA on the content and effects of this rulemaking. The tool is available for download here.
NATA and AEA have also tentatively scheduled a webinar on developing and submitting comments on the NPRM for January 5, 2010. | |
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| NATA Webinar On TSA's Repair Station Security NPRM |
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The NATA's next free webinar will be held on January 5, 2010, from noon until 1:00 p.m. (EST). This webinar will focus on the recently released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Repair Station Security. This NPRM will create a Standard Security Program (SSP) that must be followed by all FAA Part 145 certificated repair stations. This SSP would describe:
- Access controls for the facility, aircraft and/or aircraft components
- Measures for identifying individuals with access to the facility, aircraft and/or aircraft components
- Procedures for challenging unauthorized individuals
- Security awareness training for employees
- The name of the facility's designated security coordinator
- A contingency plan
- The means to verify employee background information
The NPRM will be open for public comment until January 19, 2010. NATA, in partnership with the Aircraft Electronics Association, has released a member comment tool (available here) to assist their members in drafting comments to the TSA on this proposed rule.
The webinar will cover:
- A review of the Proposed Repair Station Rule
- A review of the development and submittal process for commenting on the proposed rule
- A review of specific areas on which members may wish to provide comments
- Question and answer session
The hosts for this webinar are:
-Eric Byer, vice president, government and industry affairs, NATA
-Ric Peri, vice president, government and industry affairs, AEA
-Michael France, director regulatory affairs, NATA
Click here to register for the January 5th webinar on the Repair Station Security NPRM.
A copy of the NPRM is available here.
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| Airport Minimum Standards Webinar |
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NATA continued its free webinar series last week with a presentation on Airport Minimum Standards by NATA Director of Regulatory Affairs Michael France. The webinar, which lasted an hour and involved over 80 registered participants, included the following topics:
- AIP Program and Federal Grant Assurances
- General Contents of Minimum Standards
- Development of Minimum Standards
- Airport Sponsors Rights
There was a question and answer period at the end of the presentation. NATA's webinar series is part of the association's dedication to providing its members, and the industry in general, with the latest information on topics that affect their business. Both a video of the webinar and a copy of the presentation are available by clicking here.
The next webinar in NATA's series is scheduled for January 5, 2010, and will cover providing comments on the Transportation Security Administration's Part 145 Repair Station Security Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. | |
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| Register Today For The 2010 FBO Leadership Conference |
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| Developed for the executives and managers of fixed base operations, the annual FBO Leadership Conference features nationally recognized experts who provide the latest intelligence, tactics and strategies to maximize success. The 2010 sessions will focus on change and relationships.
New speakers have been added to the event schedule. Visit www.nata.aero/fbolc to view these program updates and more!
The 2010 FBO Leadership Conference will address these questions:
- What are the long-term implications of change for the industry, in general, and your business, specifically?
- How will you conduct business in this new environment?
- Who will tomorrow's customers be and how will you reach them?
- What is the value of relationship-building in a recession?
- How can you foster those relationships?
- How much more change can you expect?
New For Next Year
The FBO Leadership Conference will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX, immediately preceding the NBAA's Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. The close proximity of these two events will enable business leaders to meet with their customers and learn about the latest challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
Click here for a PDF of the brochure.
Click here to register for the FBO Leadership Conference on NATA's Web site.
Click here for a PDF of the registration form. | |
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| NATA Names Busch As Environmental Committee Chairman |
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| In a December 10, 2009 press release, NATA announced that Avfuel Corporation Vice President of Supply and Business Development Owen Busch has been named chairman of the NATA Environmental Committee.
In his current role, Busch oversees Avfuel Corporation's global supply chain supporting a network of over 600 branded aviation fuel dealers and hundreds of additional fuel locations accessible to general and commercial operators worldwide. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Business Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently based at Avfuel's corporate headquarters in Michigan.
"Under Owen's leadership we expect that the Environmental Committee will continue to provide direction to the association on environmental affairs, including finding innovative ways for our members to be industry leaders in environmental responsibility," said NATA Director of Regulatory Affairs Michael France.
The entire press release is available here. | |
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| Health Care Legislative Analysis Now Available For Member Review |
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| NATA has produced a comprehensive analysis of health care legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
As reported in last week's NATA News, the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved H.R. 3692, by a slim margin with a vote of 220-215. The GOP had been adamantly opposed to health care reform legislation for many reasons, in particular because the House measure raises taxes during a time of record deficits and our country cannot afford a new entitlement program that would cost an estimated $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) secured enough votes from her party by allowing an amendment to be offered to anti-abortion Democrats that bars the government insurance plan from covering abortions and prohibits people who receive insurance subsidies from purchasing private plans that cover abortions.
The 10-year, $894 billion bill places a surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 a year to raise revenue for health care reform. In addition, the bill intends to insure more than 36 million uninsured Americans. About 15 million of the poorest children and adults would be eligible to enroll in Medicaid, and an additional 21 million would be able to purchase coverage from a new national insurance exchange, where private plans would compete with a "public option" backed by the federal government. The bill includes small business tax incentives as well as exempts small businesses with payrolls of less than $500,000 annually from being required to provide health coverage or face penalty.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hopes to bring the Senate's Health Care Bill (S. 1796) to the floor before Thanksgiving, and final legislation is not likely to reach President Obama's desk before the New Year.
To view NATA's comprehensive analysis of health care legislation being considered by Congress, please click here. | |
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| New NATA ASC Logo Available For Member Use |
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| NATA has created a new NATA ASC logo that members can use on company stationery, publications and their Web site. The association recently provided members with two types of logos that members can use as appropriate. Members wishing to secure the new logo may do so by contacting Eric Byer.
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