Summer 2008 • Vol. 2, Issue 2 From the Desk of Congratulations Jack Arlene Feldman, President, NJAA I recently had the pleasure of speaking at New Jersey’s Avia- tion Day, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Coalition. This is an excerpt of that speech: Some of our decision makers still focus their attention on Teterboro, which is New Jersey’s busiest airport and the 10th busi- est general aviation airport in the United States. It’s understand- able, in light of the fact that Teterboro contributes 15,000 jobs and $1.8 billion in annual sales to New Jersey’s economy. It is one of New Jersey’s treasures. However we need to be doing a better job in educating our legislators and the general public to understand that the other New Jersey general aviation airports contribute an additional 55,000 jobs and $2.8 billion in annual sales. It is disturbing to know that some people still think of general aviation as recreational flying by only a few people who have the Congratulations to Jack Elliot, a founder of NJAA and current board financial ability to do so. The facts reflect otherwise. Surveys indi- member, on becoming a finalist in the “2008 Next Generation Indie cate that 86 percent of business aircraft passengers are marketing Book Awards.” This picture shows Jack signing his book “Adventures and sales personnel, technical experts, and other company repre- in Flying” for former airline captain Frank Shehered. ( sentatives and customers. Only 14 percent of passengers are top company managers. Nationally there are over 10,000 companies that utilize general aviation aircraft to help them compete in what FAA Reauthorization Bill Stalled has become a global marketplace. Despite the efforts of NJAA and the major aviation organiza- Business aviation operators encompass a broad section of in- tions, at this writing, the Senate has failed to act on a comprehen- terests from small, medium and large businesses to governments, sive, long term FAA authorization. schools, universities, churches, farms, foundations and charitable It was hoped that there would be passage of a long-term re- organizations. Eighty-five percent of these companies are small or authorization, but the bill that was brought up for consideration midsize companies that own and operate a single plane. contained a number of new provisions, some of which were not It is a well-known fact that general aviation is an integral part related to aviation. of the U.S. economy supporting 1.3 million jobs and over $102 bil- While Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) urged that lion of total economic activity. General aviation is a catalyst for eco- the bill be considered without the non-aviation amendments, the nomic growth. Its role in our economy is its ability to enhance the bill did not move forward. profitability and strength of U.S. businesses and industries. Compa- Senate Aviation Sub Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, nies that take advantage of the safety, speed and flexibility that they who made significant compromises in his stance on user fees, in an obtain with their corporate jets have proven, time and again, that they effort to get a long-term bill passed, expressed his frustration and will outperform businesses that rely solely on the airlines for their disappointment to describe the Senate’s inability to move forward. travel needs. However general aviation, and the New Jersey aviation He hoped that it would not take a crisis to move the bill forward. business community, in particular, have very serious challenges be- The House of Representatives passed its version of a long- cause the airports that they rely upon to conduct their businesses are term FAA reauthorization in September and it was hoped that the threatened and may disappear unless we take action now. Senate would work to bring the bill to the floor. New Jersey’s airport system is one of the most unique and The general aviation community is frustrated, as well. Phil complex in the United States. While the airports range in size, Boyer, AOPA’s President said that “after so much work to reach from large corporate facilities, such as Teterboro, Trenton-Mercer compromise on the financing, it was derailed by other issues.” and Morristown Airports to small privately owned airfields, each Ed Bolen, NBAA’s President said “Given the importance of air serves a particular market. We differ from other states where most transportation to our nation’s economy and citizens’ quality of of the airports are owned by a government agency, whether a life, we hope the Senate will recommit itself to passing an FAA continued on page 2 reauthorization bill this year.” 2 President’s Message Member Profile: continued from page 1 community or state. A privately owned facility, while it serves an important function often struggles for the funding it needs to up- grade its facilities for safety and efficiency. While the aviation industry is strong in New Jersey, some Deana Lykins companies are concerned about their ability to continue to operate since they have been witnessing a steady decline in the number of Principal Partner general aviation airports available for their use. Since the early 80s when there were 65 privately owned, public use airports, their of Insight Consulting numbers have dwindled to 43. Since these airports are the vital Services and NJAA link that connects New Jersey’s businesses and workers to oppor- Board Member tunities around the globe, we must not allow the loss of one more GA airport. We must insure that companies continue to have the opportunity to move their employees and products efficiently and safely. While the state has made substantial investments in some of Deana Lykins, Esq., a principal partner of Insight Con- the airports that were in danger of being sold, there is much work sulting Services and NJAA Board Member, has a strong policy to be done. Development and takeovers continue to threaten the background. She worked with the New Jersey Senate Majority viability of our airports. A tragic loss was Bader Field outside of Office advising legislators on all areas of commerce including Atlantic City. We failed in our tremendous efforts to keep it open. insurance regulation, consumer affairs, regulated professions, Bader’s rich history has been lost forever. banking and telecommunications. At the New Jersey Office of We have been very disturbed by the recent court decision that Legislative Services, Deana served as Deputy Counsel staffing allows Readington Township to take, by eminent domain, part of the Senate Labor Committee and as Special Assistant to the Solberg Airport. NJAA has weighed in on that issue with letters to Executive Director. Most recently, she managed the national President Bush, Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters and a legislative strategy for Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals and number of other high ranking officials to explain that we’re seeing helped her internal clients achieve significant legislative and the possibility of a dangerous precedent that would seriously affect regulatory victories. Deana began her career as a research as- the entire transportation system. sociate for the Council of State Governments. We must all work with our industry to build community sup- Deana holds a law degree from American University in port for aviation and educate citizens about the contributions that Washington, D.C., where she was an editor of one of the general aviation makes to the state to avoid what is a dangerous law reviews. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from trend. We cannot dismiss the concerns of communities about noise the University of Kentucky where she majored in Journal- and safety, but as Transportation Commissioner Kolluri has stated ism and Advertising. In 2005, Deana was named to the An- “we will work to reach consensus whenever possible, but we will nual HealthSense Listing of New Jersey’s 50 Most Influen- always be the voice for the growth and prosperity of the aviation tial Players in the Political Healthcare Arena. In 2006, industry.” It’s important that we work with the Commissioner, who Deana was named to Governor Corzine’s Transition Team, has been a strong supporter of aviation. sitting on the Budget and Reengineering Government Policy New Jersey was once considered to be the “Cradle of The Work Group. ( Golden Age of Aviation.” We led the way for all advances in avia- tion. It’s time to return to that leadership role. ( The Closing of An Important Program in Mercer County New Jersey is facing a serious problem that could have a tion Accreditation Board International. MCCC has articulation negative impact on general aviation in our state for years to come. agreements with a number of four year universities with aviation At a time when the growth of general aviation is outstripping the programs, including Thomas Edison State College, Embry Riddle supply of pilots, Mercer County Community College is planning Aeronautical University, the Florida Institute of Technology, to close down its aviation program because of a funding issue. Southern Illinois University and Purdue University. While the nursing and law enforcement programs are facing simi- The New Jersey Aviation Association believes strongly that lar financial shortages, those programs are not being eliminated. the closing of the facility would constitute a significant blow to This points out the lack of understanding of the important role the aviation infrastructure of the state. We are dedicated to doing aviation plays in the economic welfare of New Jersey. everything in our power to prevent this from happening. We re- The MCCC aviation program was established 36 years ago gard this issue as one of the most critical and immediate problems and has graduated hundreds of students, many of whom are flying facing general aviation in New Jersey.