Quote Originally Posted by FloridaJohn View Post
Since the FAA wants to charge extra for ATC services during the EAA event due to an increase in traffic, does that mean the FAA will be charging commercial airlines for ATC services during the increase in traffic seen each year the day before Thanksgiving?
It's the difference between mere overtime, vs overtime plus per diem plus travel plus lodging costs (ever price an Oshkosh hotel during AirVenture?). The issue isn't a higher level of service, it's temporarily providing a service that isn't otherwise available 51 weeks out of the year. Plus, of course, the holiday rush benefits so many corporations and individuals it would be difficult to figure out who to bill. With Oshkosh, of course, it's being run solely for the benefit of one corporation. Bean counters like that.

In any case, once the FAA institutes user fees, you probably WILL see a surcharge for holidays.

As far as comparing it to the Arlington Fly-In, the number of operations there is drastically less... and in past years, there have been controllers remotely located like Oshkosh does. According to one of the organizers in another forum, the amount of support available to Arlington this year (and its costs) is still under negotation.

Ron Wanttaja