If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
"Wolfgang Schwanke" wrote in message ... "Jay Honeck" wrote in news:cEt9e.3672$WI3.540@attbi_s71: It's the relative PROPORTION of pilots, aircraft, and airports that is out of whack in France. It's probably similar to most of Europe. If aviation weren't dead in France, they should have the same PROPORTION of pilots, aircraft and airports as the US. You fail to take several things into account. In North America, private planes are a viable and often necessary method of transport because of the distances and the lack of other transport methods in some areas. This is not so in Europe, you can get anywhere by rail and/or road. GA in the USA is also heavily subsidized by business aviation, airlines and the general public. The total of all avgas taxes pay for a tenth of the $600MM AFSS cost.. There's plenty of space in North America, and real estate is cheap. So building an airport is cheap, and no problem to place it far away from settlements whose inhabitants might complain or try to shut it down. Not so in Europe, population densities are high by comparison almost throughout the entire continent. Real estate is expensive, and wherever you decide to build an airport, there's going to be someone around who'll complain. These facts make airports expensive. There are other factors which make aviation more expensive, some have to do with regulation. Fuel is one of these factors because of taxation, but not the only one and probably not the most important one. The same price difference exists with petrol for cars, and we have no lack of those here. All these facts combined reduce private airplanes to "expensive toys" in Europe, and they are viewed accordingly. But aviation exists, it's not dead. Circumstances are just very different. Regards -- Now is ze time on Sprockets ven ve dance http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Soaring near Paris, France (Not Texas :-) | [email protected] | Soaring | 17 | November 13th 04 06:39 PM |
News from France | HECTOP | Piloting | 12 | April 1st 04 01:16 AM |
Russia joins France and Germany | captain! | Military Aviation | 12 | September 9th 03 09:56 AM |
France Bans the Term 'E-Mail' | bsh | Military Aviation | 38 | July 26th 03 03:18 PM |
"France downplays jet swap with Russia" | Mike | Military Aviation | 8 | July 21st 03 05:46 AM |