ATC Privatization: Nav Canada To Refund $60 Million To Users

https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/new...-229556-1.html

Nav Canada To Refund $60 Million To Users

By Mary Grady | August 26, 2017

While the aviation industry in the U.S. is fighting hard to oppose
proposals to privatize the air traffic system, Nav Canada, the private
not-for-profit company that runs Canada’s ATC, said recently it will
refund $60 million in fees to its customers this year. “Higher than
expected traffic growth this year has put us in a position to be able
to refund [these fees] to our customers,” said CEO Neil Wilson, in a
news release on Aug. 11. “In the past, Nav Canada has spread the
return of previous years’ surpluses, when applicable, by temporarily
reducing rates for the coming year. With the unusually high traffic
growth, we decided to implement a refund, which will enable our
customers to fully benefit sooner.” Fees are also going down,
effective Sept. 1, with a 3.5 percent average reduction to base rates
and a 0.4 percent one-time rate reduction.

Nav Canada was established in 1996 to provide air traffic control,
airport advisory services, weather briefings and aeronautical
information services for Canada’s domestic and international airspace.
The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association recently told AOPA
https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/new...-229514-1.html
they should stop citing Canada’s system as an example of failure. COPA
President Bernard Gervais said his 17,000 members “are largely
satisfied” with the service they receive from Nav Canada, although
COPA has had some issues with Nav Canada's restriction of VFR access
to some of Canada's major airports in recent months. General aviation
advocacy groups in the U.S. are united in opposition to efforts to
privatize the U.S. system.
https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/new...-229238-1.html
The groups warn that the proposed new corporation would be dominated
by the airlines and GA needs would be secondary.

COMMENTS:

Now this is sensible! If USA proponents are telling the truth about
privatization being better and cheaper, the taxes we already pay would
be more than enough for ATC revisions and we'd see rebates, too.
Instead NO talk of reducing taxes, just talk of STARTING user fees ON
TOP of current taxes. Gosh, wonder why we don't believe the hype?

Posted by: MICHAEL MUETZEL | August 27, 2017 7:04 PM

The real reason this can't work in the US is simple, they do it to
benefit pilots and their flying community up there and we wan't to do
it to make gobs of cash, almost all at the expense of the GA
community. Corporations run this country, they actually have a good
government up there...there's simply no way for it to work here. Greed
is the name of the game in the US, always has, always will be.