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NATA is the National Air Transportation Association
Founded in 1940, NATA aggressively promotes safety and the success of aviation service businesses through its advocacy efforts before government, the media and the public as well as by providing valuable programs and forums to further its members’ prosperity. |
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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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| Popular NATA Air Charter Summit Kicks Off This Evening |
| Event Registration/Sponsorship Levels Show Significant Year-To-Year Increase |
| This evening, the 2010 NATA Air Charter Summit will kick off with its Welcome Reception from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, VA. The Summit has quickly become the on-demand air charter industry’s most popular event with its wide array of business, regulatory and legislative topics on issues affecting the aviation community at-large.
Registration for the Summit is already showing an increase of more than 30% from last year’s event and sponsorship support is at a record-high. Tabletop sponsorship, providing sponsors with a unique opportunity to meet with Part 135 industry leaders, has also significantly increased.
This year’s summit has a robust agenda with issues that touch on all facets of the Part 135 and 91k communities, including state taxes, federal excise taxes, the economic forecast for the industry, an FAA regulatory update with the agency’s top leadership, charter brokering, the latest on the Large Aircraft Security Program, and a flight, duty and rest update as well as a fractional ownership leadership session. Plus, plan to attend the recently added DASSP briefing on Tuesday.
NATA is pleased to announce that TSA Assistant Administrator for Transportation Sector Network Management John Sammon will be joining us along with TSA General Manager for General Aviation Brian Delauter during the Summit’s TSA Update session. And, of course, our entertainment for this event will be Olympian Bruce Jenner.
To view the on-site program for the 2010 NATA Air Charter Summit, please click here.
On-site registration for the Summit opens at 12:00 noon today and will run through the duration of the Welcome Reception. Online registration is now closed. | |
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| Florida Governor Signs Use Tax Exemption Bill |
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| Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed into law last week House Bill 173 that exempts out-of-state aircraft from the state's use tax. Non-resident aircraft owners may fly into Florida and remain for up to 21 days during the first six months of ownership; however, if an aircraft remains in Florida exclusively for the purpose of flight training, repairs, alternations, refitting or modification, there are no time constraints during the first six months.
Under the previous law, out-of-state aircraft owners were subjected to a use tax of up to six percent of the total value of the aircraft, just for visiting the state within six months of purchasing an aircraft. This much-needed tax correction will provide significant relief for aviation businesses that had been suffering from lost business and revenue as a result of this detrimental tax practice.
The Florida Aviation Trades Association (FATA) and other aviation industry advocates have been working with legislators over the past three years to make changes to the current statute, which has been keeping tourist and business dollars out of Florida. FATA Executive Director Paula Raeburn stated, "Our members pooled their resources to reach out to their state Senators and Representatives to explain the importance of passing the bill."
The new tax exemption will begin on July 1, 2010. | |
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| Learn Strategies for Negotiating with Airport Authorities |
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| NATA will host its first E-Learn Webinar “Strategies for Negotiating with Airport Authorities: Utilizing the Sponsor Assurance to Ensure Fair Treatment Among FBOs” on Thursday, June 17, at noon (EDT).
This webinar will provide strategies to use when negotiating a new FBO lease, seeking an extension of an existing lease, preparing to invest capital into an existing business when purchasing a new FBO business and whenever everyday issues arise that affect your business at an airport.
The webinar discussion will highlight sponsor assurances (commitments made by airport sponsors in return for federal funding) and the three advisory circulars that interpret them. These assurances provide guidance on, among other things, competition among FBOs and other aeronautical users, promote safety and efficiency in all airport activities, and are supposed to reduce or eliminate the incidence of unfair treatment among FBOs and other aeronautical users. The webinar will examine how the sponsor assurances can be used to get the best results during negotiations and how they can protect your FBO from unfair treatment by an airport sponsor.
With the current downturn in the economy, the issue of fair competition at general aviation airports has become even more important to the FBO industry. Learn about your rights as an airport tenant, and how to protect your investment and improve your negotiating power.
This webinar is offered at the low cost of $49.95. Sign up here today to attend. | |
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| Register Today For NATA’s New E-learn Webinars |
| Delivering Thought Leaders To Your Location |
| NATA’s new E-learn webinars are designed to enhance your education from the convenience of your site. E-learn webinars launch in June and include several sessions specially priced at $49.95 as well as free policy and event preview webinars – a continuation of the member benefit webinars that NATA has offered since fall 2009. The registration rate for the five scheduled webinars includes participation for one site (one computer/connection) in the live webinar, a pdf copy of the PowerPoint presentations and pdf files of any additional materials. These 60-minute webinars complement NATA’s networking summit, conference and seminars by bringing experts on the hottest topics to you throughout the year.
Upcoming Webinars:
- “Strategies for Negotiating with Airport Authorities: Utilizing the Sponsor Assurance to Ensure Fair Treatment Among FBOs” – June 17, $49.95
- “Success with Social Media” – July 13, $49.95
- “New or Amended Minimum Standards: How to Ensure that Minimum Standards Help Not Hinder Your Business” – July 21, $49.95
- “Hiring & Screening In Today’s Market” – August 10, $49.95
- “Social Media Strategies: Tools & Tactics for Success” – August 17, $49.95
Plus, Free June Webinar:
“Health Care Reform Compliance” – June 23, FREE
Click here to see the webinar details and to register. Please send suggestions for future webinar topics to lpylant@nata.aero and forward this article to others in your office who will benefit from any of these educational opportunities. NATA also offers Professional Line Service Training Online, Flight Crew Briefings and SMS webcasts as a part of E-learn – NATA’s online learning programs. | |
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| Tax Questions Answered At Seminar Tailored To Charter Operators |
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| This August, NATA and Conklin & de Decker’s Commercial Operators Tax Seminar will provide air charter operators with the details necessary to understand Federal Excise Tax (FET) application, collection and remittance. During the seminar, attendees will benefit from concrete examples and are provided ample opportunity to ask questions and interact with speakers.
In addition to a thorough explanation of FET, the Commercial Operators Tax Seminar will provide details on state taxes, international fees, personal use, and depreciation, as well as FAR and IRS regulations so attendees walk away with real clarity on these issues! This year the seminar will also include a discussion on the evolving issues surrounding transactions with air charter brokers.
The Commercial Operators Tax Seminar is August 17-18, 2010, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Discounted registration fees are available for early registrants. Click on the Events Calendar at www.nata.aero to learn more or register. | |
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| Byer’s Weekly Blog: |
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| This week, NATA Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs Eric R. Byer discusses why it’s time to really re-open Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
To read Byer’s blog, please click here. | |
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| Policy Playbook Blog Addresses Navigational Database Update Rule |
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| NATA Manager of Regulatory Affairs Dennis van de Laar talks about a rule preventing pilots from performing navigational database updates, and why it should be changed. The blog is a direct follow-up to a letter NATA submitted to the FAA’s Flight Standards Service, asking the FAA to review the rule and its exemption process. A copy of this letter may be viewed here.
To read Van de Laar’s blog, please click here. | |
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| 2010 Compensation Survey Now Available |
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| NATA has released its 2010 annual survey report of general aviation service employee compensation. The report includes salaries and benefits for pilots, line-service personnel and maintenance technicians.
Employees’ compensation is broken down by geographic region of the country, by the company’s gross sales, by size of the town or city in which the company is located and by the number of employees in the company. In addition to pilots and maintenance technicians, the report includes compensation for inspectors, line service, and customer service representatives, among others.
Association Research Inc., a leading economic research firm based in Rockville, Maryland, conducted the salary study. For privacy reasons, none of the individual responses are provided to NATA.
The report is provided to NATA members who participated in the survey at no cost. The downloadable pdf version is available at a cost of $125 for non-participating members and $299 for non-NATA members. There is an additional $25 charge to receive a hardcopy of the report.
A copy of the report may be purchased on the NATA Web site at www.nata.aero/store. | |
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| Quick Facts On Aviation Fuel Quality Control |
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| A key piece of safety equipment found in almost every aircraft cockpit is checklists. Checklists are written procedures for pilots to follow under certain operating circumstances. Engine start, before taxi, before takeoff and landing checklists all provide pilots with a means of ensuring or double checking that the aircraft and crew are properly prepared for a specific phase of a flight. In addition to these normal procedures, checklists also contain procedures to follow in the event of an emergency. Emergency checklists provide a means for pilots to respond effectively and quickly in the event of an in-flight emergency and they can help aviation fuel service providers respond effectively to an emergency relating to fuel quality.
The equipment and procedures used to ensure the quality of aviation fuel have made aircraft accidents caused by fuel quality issues few and far between. However, reacting quickly and effectively any time that an aircraft fueled by your facility experiences an incident or accident that could possibly be attributed to fuel quality will allow you to verify the quality of your fuel supply and protect your facility from liability. The best method to respond to this type of situation is to use a pre-designed fuel quality emergency checklist.
The primary purpose of a fuel quality emergency checklist is to evaluate the quality of a facilities fuel supply quickly and gather relevant information relating to an aircraft that has been involved in an accident or incident. The first step in a fuel quality emergency checklist will usually be to quarantine the grade of fuel used by the aircraft involved in the accident while quality checks are carried out. Fuel can be released from quarantine once its quality is assured. The second phase of an aviation fuel quality emergency checklist is to gather information relating to the quality of the fuel used by the aircraft involved. Gathering and storing this information as soon as possible after an aircraft accident will allow a facility to have on hand all information relating to fuel quality in the event that the quality of the fuel provided by your facility is ever brought into question in a legal proceeding. This file of information should be retained for as long as possible because it is possible that certain legal proceedings could take several years.
Facilities that provide aviation fuel sales to the public are strongly encouraged to develop a fuel quality emergency checklist in partnership with their fuel distributer or a qualified consultant. This checklist, while hopefully never used, will allow your facility to be prepared to react to an emergency in a timely and effective manner. | |
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