How To Hold A National Air Safety Conference On A Web Conference Call

Transcription

1 NATA Air Charter Committee Web Meeting January 13, 2010 Meeting Minutes 1. Call to Order Chair Terri Farish called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. The following members and guests participated in the Web conference: Members: Chairman Terri Farish, Chantilly Air Scott Ashton, Gama Aviation Dana Carr, Air Trek Clark Earick, Delta Air Elite Lori Edwards, Jackson & Wade, LLC Scott Galdi, FlightSafety Int l Eileen Gleimer, Crowell & Moring Mike Grossmann, Castle Air Kenny Hepner, Million Air SLC Paul Lange, Law Offices of Paul A. Lange Chris Page, Jet Solutions Andy Priester, Priester Aviation David Rimmer, ExcelAire Bob Seidel, Jet Aviation Ashley Smith, Jet Logistics Megan Wolf, Flight Options Rich Xifo, Executive Jet Management Guests: Matt Feinstein, Jet Aviation Kurt Humm, Priester Aviation Mark Gilson, Priester Aviation NATA Staff: Jacqueline Rosser, Staff Liaison Mike France Alison McHugh 2. Committee Business a. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the May 2009 meeting were approved subject to the inclusion of the list of members who attended.

2 b. New members Jacque Rosser announced two new committee members, Scott Ashton from Gama Aviation and Marvin Euchner from SevenBar Aviation. c. Vice Chair nominations As a Vice Chair had not been selected by the committee, members were asked for nominations. d. Staff Liaison & New NATA Staff Rosser explained that Eric Byer would be the primary committee contact during her maternity leave and that Mike France and Kristen Moore would also be available to assist them. Andy Priester asked that the members be sent the addresses and phone numbers for each of the alternate contacts. Rosser announced that Alan Darrow had retired and Tim Heck had been selected as the new NATA Vice President. She also introduced Alison McHugh as the newest member of the government affairs team. e. Industry Excellence Awards Rosser gave an overview of the annual NATA awards and asked members to consider submitting a nomination. Members asked if they could be included in the evaluation process to avoid the award being given to someone that other members may find objectionable. This was particularly a concern for the FAA Customer Service Award. Rosser agreed that a committee review of the finalists would be beneficial and agreed to ask Byer to provide information on the award finalists prior to a final decision. 3. Issues a. Taxes i. FET renewed Rosser briefed the committee on the current status and rates for FET. ii. Project to work with IRS The concept of working with the IRS to improve FET guidance had been raised at the May 2009 meeting. Rosser explained that, since then, a small industry working group of NATA and NBAA members has convened to develop industry consensus on the issues to address with the IRS and then, subject to IRS agreement, work with the agency to improve the field guidance. Rosser noted that she and Eileen Gleimer were participants as is Phil Crowther who, like committee member Lori Edwards, works with Jackson & Wade. Megan Wolf had been in contact with Nel Stubbs (who was unable to attend the meeting) and indicated she still desired to participate in the group as well. Rosser explained that the committee would be updated on the progress of the group.

3 iii. Audits Rosser also noted that there had been an increase in the number of FET audits wherein the auditors were attempting to impose FET on the management fees charged to owners. Members undergoing an audit are strongly encouraged to seek assistance in challenging this interpretation as several operators have successfully won their argument that those fees are not taxable. b. Security Programs A new NPRM for the Large Aircraft Security Program is expected later this year, but otherwise there has not been much activity on that issue. Rosser and France highlighted some of the issues associated with the proposed rule to require repair stations to have security programs. Members affected by that rulemaking were encouraged to submit comments to the TSA before the February 19 deadline. c. Changes to Part 142 requirements France explained that an FAA rulemaking late last year had some unintended consequences that posed significant problems to pilots seeking type ratings primarily using simulators. NATA worked with the agency to explain the problem, and a correction to the final rule was issued that resolved the problem. d. Flight, Duty and Rest rules Rosser explained that the FAA was working on a new NPRM to revise crewmember flight, duty and rest rules. NATA has received assurances from senior FAA officials that they plan to have separate rules for Part 121 and 135, but Rosser cautioned that we won t know anything concrete until the NPRM is released to the public. Originally, the FAA had intended to release something by the end of 2009, but the new target is late spring Members asked Rosser to send to them the proposal that had been created by the 135 ARC. Rosser agreed to send out that information and encouraged members to be prepared to invest time and effort to help NATA develop a comprehensive response to the FAA NPRM. e. NTSB Rule Changes Gleimer mentioned that the NTSB has revised requirements for reporting of accidents. Rosser said that a Regulatory Report had been created explaining the changes and that the report would be available on the NATA Web site shortly. f. CAMP requirement for EU? Prior to the meeting, member Bob Marinace raised an issue regarding required maintenance programs for EU nations. Marinace s staff had been informed that EU countries were requiring all aircraft to have a CAMP. However, U.S. rules only require such programs for aircraft certificated for Page 3 of 6

4 10 or more passengers. No members had heard of such a requirement and none had encountered any problems on EU flights. The only on-going issue members have had is with France requiring FOQA programs. g. Certified true copy of certificate Rosser explained that a new voluntary OpSpec had been issued to make it easier for operators to comply with the ICAO standard specifying that air carriers carry a certified true copy of their certificate at all times. OpSpec A999 will serve this purpose, and the FAA recommends all operators obtain it. h. Air Tour Maintenance ARAC McHugh is participating on an FAA ARAC tasked with responding to NTSB recommendations to improve maintenance for aircraft used in air tours. At this time, McHugh reported, the group is planning to address the issue with guidance and best practices rather than creating a special maintenance rule for air tours. She reported that the accident data showed most incidents were in helicopters. As a result, that is where efforts are focused. At this time, guidance to develop a Quality Assurance program for all air tours is likely as is a special training program of helicopter operators. The group is expected to have a report submitted to the ARAC executive committee in December. 4. Projects a. Standardization Issues Rosser briefed the committee on NATA s efforts to highlight the problems caused by inconsistent interpretation and application of the regulations by the FAA. This was one of the May 2009 Day on the Hill issues. Following that event, a member of Congress asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the situation. NATA and others have met with the GAO to express our concerns. NATA also developed an online survey to gauge the problems the industry has had related to this inconsistency. Members were sent a summary of the report with their materials, but Rosser noted it is also available on the Web site. The FAA has not been too pleased with this focus, but has agreed that this issue does exist and that they need to do more to standardize how rules are interpreted and applied. Rosser explained that the last public action on this from the GAO was a workshop in which NATA Vice President Eric Byer presented information on the issue and some summary details from our survey. It is not known when the GAO will finish their report. b. Customs Bonds Rosser asked the committee to provide input on a potential NATA service offering. All international carriers are required to have an International Customs Bond. For many operators, this is a very expensive item because the level of the bond is $75,000 and most brokers require that the operator Page 4 of 6

5 have funds in reserve (i.e. a line of credit) to reimburse them for the bond if necessary. Several members shared their experiences with the bonds, some explaining that they personally had to guarantee the full bond amount for their business and others indicating the difficulty in obtaining the bond funds back from Customs should they be collected without need. Members were concerned about the risks and costs to NATA for providing such a service. Concerns with liability and whether our insurance would cover such a program would need to be investigated and the full costs to provide it known so that an informed choice over the cost to participating operators could be determined. The committee believed there is enough interest in such a program for NATA staff to take the next steps to investigate how NATA could become licensed to issue the bonds, gain an understanding of the risks and costs involved and then report back to the committee and board on the findings to decide whether to proceed. c. Brokers Rosser explained that the relationship between brokers and operators was of continuing concern to some members. Several communications from members having problems with brokers not paying for services or having a negative influence on pricing have been received by the association. NATA had previously published guidance on the issue in Rosser asked if the committee and NATA position on the issue had changed and what course of action the association should take. Among the areas of concern for the association is the need to avoid any recommendations or activities that could be construed as price fixing or collusion. In the ensuing committee discussion, members agreed that the key issue is establishing as a business your terms and conditions for providing services to customers, including brokers. Members felt that you should treat a broker no different from any other customer who calls for a charter. Establishing formal business practices and following them is believed to be the best way to manage these relationships. The committee agreed that it would work on the creation of a member guide containing best business practices/policies for customers. Issues that could be addressed are establishment in advance of payment terms, planning for contingencies (i.e. aircraft maintenance, cancellations, itinerary changes) and others. Andy Priester agreed to head up this project. A tentative date for a draft document is June d. Per Seat Charters Wolf raised the issue of per seat charters and how there seem to be many operators offering this type of service. Gleimer and Edwards both indicated that it is indeed possible for a Part 135 operator to offer a per seat charter Page 5 of 6

6 service, but that it requires an extensive amount of planning and the proper structure to ensure that the line into commuter service is not crossed. Unfortunately, it appears that at least some of those offering that service are not aware of what is required to do it legally and may be violating FAA regulations. 5. Other Business Rosser indicated that NATA is currently updating its Aircraft Ground Service Guide and was in need of contacts at some manufacturers to ensure correct information is presented in the guide. Several members volunteered to provide information on their contacts at the manufacturers. A nomination was made and seconded for Wolf to serve as the committee Vice Chair. As Terri Farish had to depart the meeting early, Kenny Hepner, the immediate past chairman, called for a vote on the matter. The committee unanimously voted to approve Wolf as Vice Chair. 6. Next Meetings The following upcoming NATA events were noted: a. FBO Leadership Conference Feb 25-26, San Antonio, TX b. Day on the Hill April 21, DC c. Committee Meeting April 22, DC d. Air Charter Summit June 7-9, Dulles area e. Fall Committee Meeting October 18, Orlando, FL 7. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m. Page 6 of 6