The stalemate over the debt ceiling between the White House and Congress may be over, for now, but policymakers are continuing their search for raising government revenues in many many industries, including the jet charter industry. This now includes the addition of user fees for private aircraft charter, ranging from per-flight fees from $25 to $100 and beyond.

At Stratos Jet Charters, our personal belief is that these user fees, as well as increased taxes upon our nation’s citizens, are not effective in promoting economic growth or ultimately improving the economic issues we currently face.

The National Business Aviation Association, NBAA, took action during the first of what may be many debt ceiling debates. The organization established a toll-free Legislative Action hotline that allows aircraft owners and operators, as well as those organizations and individuals who regularly utilize business aviation, to express their opposition to user fees. Our voices, and our representatives’ voices were heard this time when we said that yet another layer of added fees is not an acceptable way to address debt-ceiling or any other “revenue enhancing” legislation.

For some simple points you can make in your conversations with your legislators please contact NBAA representative Patrick Dunne, at [email protected]. To learn how to contact any of your elected officials directly, please visit the USA.gov page and follow the appropriate links.

We need your help to permanently stop the threat of user fees. From our industry knowledge, we know that they have greatly harmed general aviation in parts of the world where they are in place. We know they would create an enormous administrative burden for compliance with yet another new collection bureaucracy. We know that if they were implemented as part of the current debate in Washington, they would do nothing to strengthen our nation’s aviation system for the future, and increase the costs to you as a consumer of business aviation or personal private charter services.

NBAA Members have already answered a call from their President and CEO Ed Bolen over this issue by using the Association’s Contact Congress resource to flood lawmakers with messages opposing user fees. But we also know that your voice, as the consumers of private aviation, should be heard loud and clear by your Representative and two Senators as well.

Like all Americans, we at Stratos Jets, along with the business aviation community as a whole, understand that the nation’s debt and deficit are serious issues that must be addressed. But, user fees for general aviation would be devastating to an industry that directly generates many much-needed jobs and economic activity for our country during these challenging times.

We hope that you will take this opportunity to contact your members of Congress today, to ensure that they understand the message that additional fees on private aviation are counterproductive to our nation’s economic health. Stratos Jet Charters and I personally thank you for your continued support.

Joel Thomas, President – Stratos Jet Charters