Air Travel Delays
Jim Ellis of Business Week reported this morning on World News Now. The real reason for a lot of the travel delays suffered by the airlines is actually GA traffic. While hundreds of flights and thousands of americans sit on the ramp waiting this weekend, the controlers are actually busy taking care of GA aircraft and they don't have the time they used to have for the airliners.
Ellis went on to explain, GA doesn't pay for the services like the big boys do. Passengers flying on the big jets pay for it through taxes added to tickets while GA only pays a small fraction through gas tax. Even went so far as to say a couple of Grandparents flying down to Florida would actually be subsidizing the businessman in a GA aircraft.
He ended with... Delays are only going to get worse in the near future as the new "microjets" come to market further adding to the workload of an already taxed air traffic control system. Lastly, they encouraged letters to representatives.
I don't normally let things like this bother me but jeez, first thing in the morning I turn on the news and hear some guy spouting off ****. Avgas isn't cheap anywhere, and if you check the taxes you pay on the fuel I would bet any average GA pilot pays more in federal tax than ANY average passenger on an airliner over the period of a year.
No, GA doesn't pay as much overall but when you break it down to individuals, pound for pound GA pilots pay their fair share and then some.
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John Ratliff
N898R
RV-8
Saucier MS
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