Property Laws on Aircraft in Public Use
Property Laws on Aircraft in Public Use
Speciale discussed a lot of concepts about property and how it relates to aircraft and airports in public use (2006). Speciale covered different topics – such as the difference between real properties and personal properties, the number of owners, ways to acquire, and the usage of properties (2006). This paper will only discuss personal property laws and how it guided aviation laws on aircrafts used in public in terms of ownership, acquisition and leasing only.
Speciale mentioned that personal properties can be owned by single or multiple owners (2006). However, it appears that aircrafts in public use are always in multiple ownerships and that a group of multiple-owners come together to form a dry lease, which is called fractional ownership (Speciale, 2006).
According to Speciale, personal properties are transferred through a deed, a documented proof that the real owner is either selling or donating the property (2006). However, to help clarify the ownership of aircrafts, instead of a deed, according to the Federal Aviation Agency, there should be bills of sale that includes all registered and documented records that impacts title to the aircraft (as cited in Speciale, 2006, p. 224).
Leasing aircrafts are also different from the usual lease on a personal property. Speciale enumerated five ways of leasing an aircraft – nonexclusive, exclusive, leaseback, wet and dry (2006). These methods of leasing differ in terms of length of use and time of lease and whether the aircraft includes flight operators and crews, aircraft care, and insurance (Speciale, 2006).
In a nutshell, it appears that the laws on personal property served as guides or skeletons in building aviation laws for aircrafts used in public. However, it is not sufficient to use property laws as it is. Thus, there is a need to add some modification to fit the needs of public aircrafts.
Reference
Speciale, R. C. (2006). Fundamentals of aviation law. NY: McGraw-Hill
