Business aviation leaders are encouraged that FAA’s leadership has settled in place and that Congress has crafted a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill they believe will foster new technology, sustainability, and workforce. However, the five-year reauthorization bill has been hung up in Congress, and leaders hope for quick passage early in 2024 to provide the FAA the wherewithal to move on those issues.
In addition, leaders are watching an array of issues before the agency this year that range from the implementation of safety management systems (SMS) and a looming new special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) for advanced air mobility (AAM) to the possible reshaping of Part 380, all of which the business aviation community has weighed in on through comments.
“We feel 2024 can be a really good year for business aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We’ve got a strong leadership team at the FAA. If we can get a strong FAA reauthorization bill passed, that’s important. If we can see some of our comments to the docket reflected in some of the final rules and regulations, that would be important. And certainly, if we get our message out on our commitment to net-zero emissions, safety technology—all of those things are really important.”
In late October, Congress confirmed Michael Whitaker to a five-year term as FAA administrator with broad support and almost unprecedented speed—his confirmation was unanimous, and he was approved less than two months after he was nominated. His appointment followed the naming of Katie Thomson in July as FAA deputy administrator, David Boulter in August as associate administrator for aviation safety, and Edward Bolton, Jr., in November as chief of staff. This filled out a roster that had largely been held on an acting basis.
At the same time, the House in July passed a carefully crafted 800-page reauthorization bill with rare bipartisan support. However, that bill was delayed in the Senate, initially over the 1,500-hour requirement for airline pilots but Senate leaders more recently have indicated that other issues might be at play.
While the FAA’s authorization had been set to expire at the end of September, Congress passed an extension to the end of the year. Last month, the chamber was finalizing another extension, this time, to March 8.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) president and CEO Pete Bunce testified before Congress late last year, citing a “critical need” to finish the FAA bill. “I’ve never seen a time that is more important for us to get the FAA reauthorized and address some of the critical issues,” he said.
He pointed to “daunting” challenges in front of Whitaker and said he needs to be able to focus on safety, workforce, and other priorities without the disruptions of continuing extensions and potential shutdowns.
The House bill addresses key issues such as FAA staff training and the regulatory process, which is threatening the progress of new technologies, as well as controller hiring, Bunce further noted.
With the turnover at the agency, not only at the top ranks but within safety staff, rulemaking, certification work, and other projects have slowed, Bunce noted and said during a recent NBAA webinar. “The FAA has got to do its job,” he stressed. “I know there’s a lot of frustration in a lot of quarters with the FAA being able to perform.”
But he was hopeful now that Whitaker is in place. “He’s got a mandate to fix the things, and we are there to support him and to provide especially some of the pathways that we think we can allow technology to not only help with the sustainability journey but also just be able to make aircraft safer and make flying safer,” Bunce added.
Bolen echoed similar sentiments on the expediency of reauthorization passage in 2024. “First thing is let’s get a reauthorization bill done,” he noted. “I think that’s fundamental.”
He also pointed to the personnel changes at that agency. “It has taken a while to get here, but today the leadership of the FAA is in place, and it is strong,” he said. “And now the hope is that the legislative body provides that kind of predictability that’s inherent in a long-term reauthorization bill. So, the earlier in the year we can get that bill passed and signed into law the better it will be not just for the aviation industry but for our country.”
This is key, he said, to foster innovations that are moving through the FAA approval process. “Business aviation is really an incubator for aviation technologies. It’s important for safety to bring those to market. It’s important to be able to bring them to market in terms of companies investing in research and development,” he said. “Having a high functioning FAA where people have the expertise and the resources to make important certifications to allow innovations, that’s really important.”
On a more granular basis, the industry is watching as the SMS final rule that, according to the most recent Department of Transportation (DOT) schedule, is now on track for release midyear. The proposed rulemaking, released in January 2023, would mandate SMS for Part 135, air tours, and manufacturers.
“SMS is a great tool,” Bolen said. “But it’s got to be scaled appropriately. Both the scalpel and a chainsaw are good for cutting, but they’re not interchangeable cutting devices.” NBAA and the business aviation community have appealed to the FAA to consider the varied operations and organizations and refrain from a blanket application of rules originally written for airlines.
Another major concern is possible action on alterations to safety regulations governing operators that fly under DOT Part 380 economic authority for public charters. The FAA in August issued a notice of intent to draft a rulemaking that would change the definitions surrounding certain carriers operating under Part 380, pushing some from Part 135 regulations to Part 121.
“Part 380 has been around for decades and while the industry has grown significantly, accidents and incidents have not,” Bolen said. “We hope and believe that data can be enormously helpful in all of these. With Part 380 we have not seen data to suggest that needs to be changed.”
Bolen also pointed to the SFAR under development for AAM. The FAA in June released its proposed SFAR to serve as a foundation for the introduction of AAM, including operating rules.
While the effort is supported, business aviation groups have expressed concern about energy reserves and language around a need for a dual control variant of each aircraft platform.
“We want and need an SFAR, but the SFAR has to work,” Bolen said. “With some of the requirements, like dual controls, there are showstoppers in there. We’re making that case, and we’re hoping that gets resolved in a positive way.”
Remaining at the forefront is sustainability, from a push to extend the expiring blender’s tax credit to expanding potential sources for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to getting the message out about business aviation’s commitment to net-zero during an election year.
“We’ve seen real progress on our commitment on climate change,” Bolen maintained. “When we look at sustainable aviation fuel, five or six years ago people didn’t know what we were talking about. Now we’ve seen the White House has a SAF grand challenge.”
It is critical to keep progress accelerating, he said, both from an SAF standpoint and other forms of technological development such as AAM.
“We’re hoping in the final rules all of that comes together in ways that allow us all to move forward. The question is how do we get there?” Bolen said. “Part of it is getting the right people in the right place at the right time with the right processes in place.”