AOPA, NBAA Join Airlines in Fight Against Fuel Prices

While the airline and general aviation groups couldn’t be farther apart on the issue of aviation user fees, they seem to have found common ground on fuel prices. As fuel costs continue to climb, NBAA and AOPA recently joined an airline-industry-founded coalition focused on finding ways to reduce fuel prices. Dubbed Stop Oil Speculation Now, the coalition–which also includes highway, agricultural and other interests–is pushing for “solutions to help materially reduce unnecessarily high energy prices.” According to NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, “The people in business aviation are subject to challenging economic conditions and high fuel costs, just like everyone else. We need to find ways to try to address rising fuel costs, and this group is committed to doing just that.” AOPA president Phil Boyer admitted that aligning with an airline-founded group makes for “strange bedfellows,” but added, “It’s obvious that something needs to be done to lower the cost of fuel. We’ve joined this effort that is quickly gaining momentum, and we hope that it ultimately creates a national energy policy that Congress can adopt.”