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Thread: ATC privatization

  1. #1

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    ATC privatization

    Ms. Chao has been appointed Transportation Secretary. She is in the corner with the big boys and favors ATC privatization. This has been an issue for us in GA and occasionally comes up in AOPA concerns.

    Can any of you north of the border tell us what privatization would mean to us down here in the lower 48 as to cost, inconvenience and so on. Having read some comments posted elsewhere it's not a rosy picture and something to be avoided.

    Cheers, Hans

  2. #2
    rv8bldr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by saber25 View Post
    Ms. Chao has been appointed Transportation Secretary. She is in the corner with the big boys and favors ATC privatization. This has been an issue for us in GA and occasionally comes up in AOPA concerns.

    Can any of you north of the border tell us what privatization would mean to us down here in the lower 48 as to cost, inconvenience and so on. Having read some comments posted elsewhere it's not a rosy picture and something to be avoided.

    Cheers, Hans
    I pay $70/year. That's it. There are a few airports in Canada where they charge a landing fee, but those are generally the big ones, and normally it is around $15. The only time I've paid it is flying into the airport on Toronto Island.




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  3. #3

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    Privatization and user fees are two seperate issues. The government could pay efficient corporations to run the systems without imposing a user fee.

    Or, the government could keep ownership and impose a user fee. The first option is best, I think, because the government already collects fuel tax.
    Last edited by Bill Berson; 02-03-2017 at 09:56 PM.

  4. #4

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    RV8buildr, thanks for your input. Based on what I read here http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-bl...on-opportunity and if you read the second comment letter, it sounds like a burdensome system adding to our flight costs without any benefits. I know the EAA has not been a proponent of the concept nor has AOPA.


    Cheers, Hans

  5. #5

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    The state of Illinois charges a user fee to use their airspace. When Annette the lady from the state contacted me about this fee, this is what she said it was. A tax to use the airspace in Illinois. They find you when you land and purchase fuel. This was how they got my info. When I told a fellow aviator about this he told me...This is why when you need fuel you look around and use another N number from a plane sitting on the tarmac.

    Tony

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
    ...This is why when you need fuel you look around and use another N number from a plane sitting on the tarmac.
    lol, great strategy! The state of Illinois does not own the airspace and can not charge to use it. She probably meant something else, I'd sure like to be on the other end of her phone call....

  7. #7

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    Nothing says they have to follow the Transport Canada model.
    I'd gladly pay for part I use, just don't force me to participate in services I don't need or want then make me pay for it.

  8. #8
    Mayhemxpc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
    The state of Illinois charges a user fee to use their airspace. When Annette the lady from the state contacted me about this fee, this is what she said it was. A tax to use the airspace in Illinois. They find you when you land and purchase fuel. This was how they got my info. When I told a fellow aviator about this he told me...This is why when you need fuel you look around and use another N number from a plane sitting on the tarmac.

    Tony
    This is strange. I have flown in and out of Illinois quite a bit over my adult life. Other than airport ramp fees at bigger airports (e.g., MDW and PIA) I have never been assessed a fee from Illinois or contacted by anyone from the State government for such a fee. When did this start?

    I also agree with Marty in that the State of IL has no authority to charge for the use of "their" airspace. It is not theirs. I also imagine that it would be a matter of a state regulating interstate commerce.

    Update: I just finished searching the web, to include AOPA information, Illinois Department of Transportation/Aeronautics Division, and reading through the Illinois Aviation Act. I could find no reference to such a fee. That said...I do know that IL, and other states, will look N numbers on the ramp to see if the aircraft is required to pay IL aircraft registration fees. Maybe they also use fuel receipts for that purpose.
    Last edited by Mayhemxpc; 02-04-2017 at 09:24 AM. Reason: Update
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  9. #9

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    A state might have the authority to have tax on using a state airport, thus a fee when you land, just like our county and many airports have a landing fee. I doubt if they have a fee for using the air over the state, and no way they could collect that if you are only in the air. I think the lady said it wrong. Couple of folks on tv been doing that lately,
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 02-04-2017 at 10:44 AM.

  10. #10
    L16 Pilot's Avatar
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    I'm sure if they could find a way to tax you for flying through "their airspace" they would but most airports have their landing fee (such as it is) built into their fuel flowage surcharge or some like fee.
    If God had intended man to fly He would have given us more money!

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