Aviation Organizations

     There are numerous aviation organizations around the globe. All of these, help further involve pilots in the aviation field. Whether it be establishing connections or keeping up to date on new topics, joining an organization is always a good idea. There are only a few organizations I could see being beneficial throughout the course of my career. Two of the organizations that would be on the top of my list would be the Aircraft and Owners Pilot's Association (AOPA), and the Air Line Pilot's Association (ALPA).

   

  According to the AOPA website, their mission statement is:

We protect your freedom to fly by…

• advocating on behalf of our members,
• educating pilots, nonpilots, and policy makers alike,
• supporting activities that ensure the long-term health of General Aviation,
• fighting to keep General Aviation accessible to all, and
• securing sufficient resources to ensure our success. (AOPA, n.d.)

     To my understanding, it almost seems that the AOPA is a representative of the general aviation community. It allows recreational pilots to be able to feel that they have a say  with change being made in the industry. The AOPA also provides many services that range from insurance, to legal and medical services.

     "ALPA's mission is to promote and champion all aspects of aviation safety throughout all segments of the aviation community; to represent the collective interests of all pilots in commercial aviation; to assist in collective bargaining activities on behalf of all pilots represented by the Association; to promote the health and welfare before all governmental agencies; to be a strong, forceful advocate of the airline piloting profession; and to be the ultimate guardian and defender of the rights and privileges of the professional pilots." (ALPA, 2015) The ALPA is regarded as the largest air line pilot organization in the world. Some services ALPA offers are: aviation safety, security, pilot assistance, representation, and advocacy. The ALPA works under the same principles as the AOPA. The purpose of this organization is to give air line pilots a voice to offices that make changes in the aviation industry. It also allows air line pilots to be able to become more involved in the industry by keeping them up to date.

     Both the AOPA and the ALPA are organizations, I believe, are important to be a part of during my career. With a rapidly changing industry like aviation comes many new rules being implemented. To make sure these rules are practical to the everyday pilot is extremely important to me. If changes are going to be made, giving the people who deal with these rules a say is critical to the growth and prosperity of this industry.

SOURCES:

Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association. (n.d.) About aopa. Retrieved from https://www.aopa.org/about

National Business Aviation Association (n.d.) About nbaa. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nbaa.org/about/ 

Aviation Emissions

Aviation Emissions

     Keeping carbon emissions to a minimum, has become a major concern within recent years. there have been many new regulations implemented to make sure aviation to a minimum. Although aviation is focused on more than other forms of transportation. It seems that the aviation industry shouldn't be the primary focus. According to the Air Transport Action Group, "The global aviation industry produces around 2% of all human induced carbon-dioxide emissions." (Air Transport Action Group, 2016) When breaking this statistic down to an industry level, the number are still much lower. "Aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources, compared to 24% from road transport sources." ( Air Transport Action Group 2016) With these statistics given, it really does seem that the aviation industry is rather efficient in keeping carbon emissions down.  The spotlight should be put on industries that involve road transportation, which has much more contribution to carbon emissions than aviation.

     The United Nations recently came up with an agreement that would help reduce carbon emissions in the aviation sector. This became known as the Paris Agreement. The goal of this was to keep the rate of global warming under 2 degrees Celsius per year. This agreement " sets airlines' carbon emissions in 2020 as the upper limit of what carriers are allowed to discharge. Airlines that exceed that limit in future years, as most are expected to do, will have to offset their emissions growth by buying credits from other industries and projects that limit greenhouse gas emissions." (The Associated Press, 2016) It shows that the aviation industry is making a conscious effort to help reduce carbon emissions on their end.

     With President-Elect Trump in the transition process, he has given a good amount of his time talking about the Paris Agreement. Under his new plan he wants the US to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Before this speech, he had said,"He would renegotiate the global agreement involving nearly all countries, but this time he went further and said the US would pull out .The climate change deal is bad for US business and said the pact allows foreign bureaucrats control over how much energy we use." Since Trump is not in office yet, he hasn't been able to take any action regarding the Paris Agreement. Once he steps into office, we will be able to gain a grasp on what President-Elect Trump's intentions are.

      I personally feel that there needs to be a healthy balance between making sure that aviation carbon emissions are reduced, and that we make sure that the economy is jeopardized. As stated previously, I don't believe that the aviation industry should be the central focus on trying to cut down carbon emissions. It seems that road transportation is a much larger problem and we should work on finding away to reduce this form of emissions. I feel that is necessary to regulate emissions to an extent, but you have to make sure that the US economy does not hurt from it in return.


SOURCES:

Facts & FIGURES - Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.atag.org/facts-and-figures.html

News, B. (2016, May 27). Donald Trump would 'cancel' Paris climate deal. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36401174

 (2016). U.N. agreement reached on aircraft emissions curbs. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://triblive.com/business/headlines/11267400-74/agreement-emissions-aviation

Global Airlines- Is it a fair playing ground?

     The open skies agreement is exactly as the same makes it seem. "Open Skies agreements do this by eliminating government interference in the commercial decisions of air carriers about routes, capacity, and pricing, freeing carriers to provide more affordable, convenient, and efficient air service for consumers." ( US Department of State, N.d.)  There are hundreds of companies across the world that are a part of this agreement. One of the downsides to this act is that some foreign carriers receive government subsidies. Two major carriers that receive these bonuses are Emirates and Qatar airways.

      It seems to be a split controversy, but U.S. carriers were, and still are being subsidized. "The very first large aircraft order by American Airlines was subsidized by the Reconstruction Financial Corporation. It was hardly a coincidence that future Democratic administration Secretary of Commerce C.R. Smith, then chairman of American Airlines, was best man in FDR’s son’s wedding.Delta Airlines and United both have their substantial Tokyo operations as a result of the spoils of World War II.In recent times airlines received big fuel tax breaks, and Delta has an oil refinery in Pennsylvania that received nine-figure tax breaks." (Leff, 2015) Although some airlines in the Middle East region are receiving money from their governments, US air carriers are getting many benefits that help save them money. These benefits help keep US carriers in competition with the higher end airlines from around the world.

     Another major issue rising from the Open Skies Agreement. This complaint is that foreign carriers are buying aircraft below the market interest rates. This is essentially an incentive for foreign carriers to buy american. "Those are low interest rate loans that entice foreign businesses only to buy Made in U.S.A. manufacturing. The U.S. government sees those loan programs as a way to subsidies foreign buyers of high paying U.S. jobs." (Rapoza, 2015) There shouldn't be an incentive for US air carriers to buy from their own country. In order to keep money flowing around our economy, we should invest in companies that are in the United States. This subsidy is only to get foreign carriers to buy american products. This enables job security for american aircraft manufacturers.

     Overall, I do feel that the global "playing field" of long haul carriers is fair. While some governments give money to companies for their services, the US government offers the airlines large amounts of benefits in order to stay competitive. I do not see an issue with the government also "discounting" fleets for foreign carriers. This is an easy way to make other countries want to buy our products. It also allow for job security for working men and women in the United States.

Sources:

Leff, G. (2015). US Airlines Have Received More Subsidies than Middle East Ones - View from the Wing. Retrieved November 04, 2016, from http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/08/us-airlines-have-received-more-subsidies-than-middle-east-ones/

Open Skies Agreements. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2016, from http://www.state.gov/e/eb/tra/ata/

Rapoza, K. (2015, May 16). Etihad Airways Sticks it to American Airlines. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/05/16/etihad-airways-sticks-it-to-american-airlines/2/#34bd54104ffa