U.S. GENERAL AVIATION INDUSTRY
U.S. General Aviation Industry in Regards to Business and Corporate Flying
Introduction
In order to understand the organization of the United States’ aviation industry, there are several factors that are necessary to note, and that will guide us in understanding how it has been organized, and its operation with regards to the changing internal and external aspects and situations within the United States, and beyond. One of the key things, for example, to note includes the fact that the changes and instability of the United States’ economy has severely affected various industries across the nation, and these include the aviation industry. The 2007 recession, for example, is one of the economic conditions that severely affected the nation and the aviation industry as well, in terms of performance and operations. This is primarily due to the fact that the country’s economic stability affected the dollar value in the world market. This, consequently, affected various operations such as flight charges, import and purchase of assembly parts and the importation of aviation oil, among other costs incurred in the production of aviation services (Commission of European Communities, 2001).
With about 15,000 aircrafts registered in the United States, only 3% of these are involved financial gain, and flown by Fortune 500. The remaining 97% are institution-owned, for instance, by schools, persons and other institutions. After the 2007 recession, however, the Department of Economy raised taxation for the privately-owned aircrafts by 4.6%, since they did not only contribute to a higher percentage of the total number of aircrafts, but also due to the fact that the aviation industry was failing to meet its required taxation and economic performance and consistency. This is one of the factors that have led to opinionated perceptions concerning the move, since most of the private firms did not anticipate this move. At the same time, the aviation oil’s price increased by almost 5.7% by the fall of the year 2008 (Communication Staff, 2013).
Political situation
One of the most essential things to note concerning the aviation industry is the fact that it has been marred with political interference for long, from as way back as the World War I and the World War II. In the recent past, however, plans for the closure of the 149-Air Traffic Control Towers according to the Federal Aviation Administration Unit is one of the aspects that many aviation stakeholders viewed as being politically managed, and this has led to the creation of friction and differences between the various national aviation stakeholders and the federal government, leading to a negative political stigma (Redrickson, 2013).
Administration
There has been a proposal from the national aviation services to the Federal Aviation Administration to incur charged for the Air Traffic Control services, through the Central Route Charges Office. However, it has not yet been determined on the most appropriate way to achieve this, since some of the aspects that should be essentially determined include whether or not en-route aircrafts will be charged under the proposed Air Traffic Control proposal, and the strategies that will be used for the same (Commission of European Communities, 2001).
Development
Lastly, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration department, the aviation industry has found it necessary to set up assembly plants next to the airports. According to the aviation industry stakeholders, this will not only enhance proper management of the aviation field, but also reduce on the cost of production, for instance, the cost of transport and ease of access to assembly parts. At the same time, this will enhance other aspects such as internship (Communication Staff, 2013).
References
Communication Staff. 2013. “AOPA warns user fee proposal could cripple GA.” Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2013/April/10/AOPA-warns-user-fee-proposal-could-cripple-GA on June 2nd 2013.
Commission of European Communities. 2001. “Study of the terminal charges for Air Traffic Control services.” Price Water House Coopers. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/studies/doc/traffic_management/2001_03_charges_final_report_en.pdf on June 2nd 2013.
Redrickson, K. 2013. “Air Traffic Control Tower Closures Are Canceled After Delays Resulted At Major Airports.” Traveller Today. Retrieved from http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/6248/20130513/air-traffic-control-tower-closures-canceled-delays-resulted-major-airports.htm on June 2nd 2013.
