Industry fears more red tape burden on Part 135? - 
Via the Oz:
Via the Oz:
Quote:Fears of more charter red tapeMTF...P2
ANNABEL HEPWORTH
The nation’s civil aviation regulator is being urged against adding to crippling red tape and costs to small air charter operators.
Small aviation chart operators fear more red tape
The nation’s civil aviation regulator is being urged against adding to crippling red tape and costs to small air charter operators when it releases new rules for smaller aeroplanes.
In the wake of this week’s summit on the embattled general aviation sector in Wagga Wagga, the sector has launched a pre-emptive strike over new “part 135” rules that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is expected to release in draft form next month for broad consultation.
The rules will be aimed at setting minimum standards for small planes conducting air transport operations, capturing both charter and regular public transport operations.
Some have fears that the rules and associated maintenance regulations could prove too complicated for smaller and remote operations, although CASA insists the proposed changes would decrease red tape “over time”.
There has been consultation so far through the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel and its technical working group, though this is still in progress.
It is understood the content of the draft to be released for consultation is still not settled.
Ben Wyndham, Airspeed Aviation managing director, said he worried that the new rules would mandate the employment of safety managers and prevent the business owner or chief executive filling the key roles of safety manager and chief pilot.
“This adds $100,000 to $200,000 to our payroll each year and is simply anti-small business,” Mr Wyndham said.
However, a CASA spokesman said the role of safety manager “could be met in a number of ways and may not require additional resources in an organisation”.
“Consultation already conducted during the drafting of the proposed rules has suggested it is appropriate for all air transport operators to have a safety management system,” he said.
“The key point is that safety management systems will be scaled to match the size of the operator … CASA will not require small air transport operators to have the same complex safety management systems as large airlines.”
Another crucial issue is the level of maintenance CASA insists on. Mr Wyndham said that regulating charter operations the same as regular public transport operations could lead to a need to use more expensive maintenance outfits. This could lead to “more administration and staff and costs,” he said.
Stuart Burns, chief executive and chief pilot at Complete Aviation, which runs charter aircraft, was concerned that another set of rules for large aeroplanes, being made together with part 135, would affect current operators of various light aircraft, impose extra costs and require more crew.
Mr Burns said this was at a time when there was a shortage of skilled pilots and competition from road transport.
But the CASA spokesman said the proposed changes “provide for an increased number of outcome-based rules that will lower red tape over time”.
Rick Pegus, a pilot and managing director of Navair, said part 135 could create opportunities for smaller operators to conduct scheduled flights, selling seats “which might open up some opportunities in certain areas”.
“It could be potentially good for small country towns that currently don’t have any services,” Mr Pegus said.
But he noted that it “could also create a revolving door of operators going broke trying to establish these types of opportunities without any real experience in this new style of business”.
& a comment from Sandy:
Quote:..CASA has a 30 year record of talking the talk, a remarkable history of stating unequivocally that it is working to reduce red tape for General Aviation (GA). Problem is that one step forward and ten backwards has resulted in the closure of hundreds of flying schools and more closures of the few struggling GA schools and smaller charter firms still operating will occur. Thousands of jobs have also been lost in aircraft maintenance and the pathways for aircraft engineering apprentices have been steadily truncated. There are now no appropriate courses in Melbourne so one apprentice is traveling from north west Victoria through Melbourne to East Gippsland (Sale) for training. You wouldn’t believe we have become so backward.
The independent regulator is a model of failure, just another Can’tberra fee gouging salary factory. It is churning out impossibly complex rules, a 30 year attempt to rewrite and still not finished. It has migrated its unfinished rules into the criminal code, against the Commonwealth’s own guidelines, and inappropriately framed them as offences of strict liability. It’s CEO, fatuously titled ‘Director of Air Safety,’ receives around $600,000 per annum, considerably more than the Minister who should be in charge. Neither gentleman has any hands on experience of GA.
Qantas and other airlines used to have plenty of well qualified Australian GA pilots to chose from, now it can’t find them and is fishing around the world to fill it’s cockpits. It is planning to create a local flight school, well good luck Mr. Joyce, the new flying school rules due this August mean the shortage of instructors will increase and your flight school would be well advised to set up in the USA where rational and workable rules are allowing a resurgence of GA activity. Alex in the Rises..