Northwest CEO Richard Anderson Jabs General Aviation

While the airlines consume 94% of annual aviation fuel sales*, it's my
understanding that they are largely exempt fuel tax**. So who's right
on the issue of ATC funding?


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AOPA ePilot Volume 6, Issue 11 March 12, 2004
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AIRLINE MAGAZINE TAKES SHOTS AT GA
If you happened to travel on Northwest Airlines recently you may
have been upset by a little turbulence, but not the kind caused by
meteorological forces. A column
(http://www.nwa.com/corpinfo/aword/ )
in the airline's magazine, written by Northwest CEO Richard
Anderson, took some jabs at general aviation and how the air
traffic control system is funded. "As the system works today, you,
the commercial airline passenger, are subsidizing private aircraft
ownership. This is not right," he wrote. But he's not right. As a
general aviation pilot, you know very well that flying and using
the system isn't free. You pay a wide range of fees from fuel
taxes to landing fees. And you also know that you don't enjoy many
of the services the airlines do. AOPA President Phil Boyer wants
to arrange a meeting with Anderson to straighten out
misconceptions caused by the column (as well as discuss issues
regarding reliever airports in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area). We
will keep you posted.



* http://www.aopa.org/special/newsroom.../activity.html

** Message-ID:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pi...caact0008.html
Airlines are already exempt from paying a two-cent-per-gallon excise
tax on jet fuel that general aviation aircraft must pay in addition to
the regular sales tax on fuel.