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Survey of Minimum Standards: Commercial Aeronautical Activities at Airports (2011)

Chapter: IV. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH RESULTS

« Previous: III. LEGAL PRINCIPLES
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Suggested Citation:"IV. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH RESULTS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Survey of Minimum Standards: Commercial Aeronautical Activities at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14491.
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Suggested Citation:"IV. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH RESULTS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Survey of Minimum Standards: Commercial Aeronautical Activities at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14491.
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9 changes in Minimum Standards may lead to different standards being applied to different tenants based upon the time the applicable agreements were executed.42 IV. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH RESULTS A. Literature Review There are two primary sources of guidance on the subject of airport Minimum Standards: the FAA and airport industry trade groups. FAA guidance on Mini- mum Standards is provided in the following documents: • Sponsor or Grant Assurances.43 • Order 5190.6B, Airport Compliance Manual, Chap. 10 (Reasonable Commercial Minimum Standards) (2009).44 • Advisory Circular 150/5190-7, Minimum Stan- dards for Commercial Aeronautical Activities (2006).45 • Advisory Circular 150/5190-6, Exclusive Rights at Federally Obligated Airports (2007).46 The following documents prepared by airport indus- try trade groups also contain guidance on airport Minimum Standards: • National Air Transportation Association, Airport Sponsors Guide to Minimum Standards & Airport Rules and Regulations (2009).47 • American Association of Airport Executives and National Air Transportation Association, Airport Spon- sor’s Guide to Preparing Minimum Standards for Air- port Aeronautical Service Providers and Airport Operat- ing Rules and Regulations (2002). 42 See Director’s Determination, Rick Aviation, Inc. v. Pen- insula Airport Comm’n, FAA Docket No. 16-05-18, at 17 (May 8, 2007), http://part16.airports.faa.gov/pdf/16-05-18b.pdf, (The FAA does not enforce lease provisions through the com- pliance program. When a sponsor amends its minimum stan- dards, it may attempt to apply such standards to all users. If such application of new minimum standards appears to be in conflict with lease agreements, such a dispute is a legal dispute over lease terms. This is outside of FAA jurisdiction. However, the FAA recognizes that sponsors may not always be able to en- force new minimum standards against leaseholders of prior le- gal contracts. In such circumstances, the FAA often recommends that when the sponsor has the ability to re-open lease agree- ments, it should pursue amending the leases to be consistent with the new minimum standards.). 43 http://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/grant_assurances/ media/airport_sponsor_assurances.pdf. 44 http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/publications /orders/compliance_5190_6/. 45 http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media /advisory_circular/150-5190-7/150_5190_7.pdf. 46 http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media /advisory_circular/150-5190-6/150_5190_6.pdf. 47 http://www.nata.aero/data/files/GIA/airport _misc/minstdsguidefinal.pdf. • Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Minimum Standards for Commercial Aeronautical Activities (1998).48 Very few state aeronautics departments appear to publish guidance on airport Minimum Standards. One example of a state guidance document is the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Minimum Standards for Commercial Aeronautical Activities.49 This Legal Research Digest is the only project under the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Airport Co- operative Research Program (ACRP) directly address- ing the subject of airport Minimum Standards. Mini- mum Standards are addressed briefly in ACRP Report 16, Guidebook for Managing Small Airports (2009).50 Another project currently underway—ACRP 1-08, Guidebook on Best Management Practices for Leasing and Developing Airport Property—may address the subject. B. Minimum Standards Questionnaire A Minimum Standards Questionnaire was developed to gather information on the commercial aeronautical activities occurring at airports; the role, purpose, and content of Minimum Standards; and the process for developing Minimum Standards. The questionnaire was distributed to a random sam- ple of airports located throughout the United States (survey population). The survey population consisted of a statistically significant random sample of National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) public-use airports (both privately and publicly owned) having a paved runway of 3,000 ft or greater. The questionnaire was distributed to 491 airports, and 99 surveys were completed prior to the response deadline, which repre- sents a response rate of approximately 20 percent.51 To further assist in developing the Compendium of Comparative Minimum Standards in Section V and Appendix D, the questionnaire requested a copy of the respondent airport’s Minimum Standards. Thirty-nine airport-specific Minimum Standards were received and reviewed. The survey results are considered statistically sig- nificant (with a 95 percent confidence level and a 5 per- cent margin of error). The questionnaire and results are provided in Appendix B. The following information pro- vides a brief summary of the survey results. The respondent airports had the following attributes: 48 http://www.aopa.org/asn/minimum_standards.pdf. 49 http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/air/docs/ minimum-standards.pdf. 50 http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/acrp /acrp_rpt_016.pdf. 51 The questionnaire was initially disseminated to the sur- vey population on December 22, 2009, and a final response deadline of February 12, 2010, was established. The question- naire was made available via a dedicated Web site and the link was disseminated via email to the survey population.

10 • Approximately 97 percent of the respondent air- ports are publicly owned. • The respondent airports range from General Avia- tion airports to Medium Hub Primary Commercial Ser- vice airports. The NPIAS classification of the respon- dent airports is reflective of the composition of the entire NPIAS. • The mean number of based aircraft within the sur- vey population is approximately 91, and the median number of based aircraft is 62. • The mean annual fuel volume (all types) was calcu- lated to be approximately 603,300 gal, and the median was calculated to be 174,750 gal. The questionnaire revealed the following information about commercial aeronautical activities occurring at the respondent airports: • FBOs, aircraft storage, aircraft maintenance, and flight training/instruction operators are the most com- mon types of commercial aeronautical activities occur- ring at the respondent airports. • Among the airports exercising a proprietary exclu- sive right, the most common activity being conducted is aircraft fueling. • Ninety-one percent of airports engaging in a com- mercial aeronautical activity in competition with other entities at the airport conduct aircraft storage and parking. • Of the airports prohibiting an aeronautical activ- ity, approximately 39 percent prohibit commercial through-the-fence activities. The questionnaire revealed the following information about the use, development, and amendment of Mini- mum Standards at the respondent airports: • Approximately 63 percent of the respondent air- ports have Minimum Standards. • There is considerable variability in the age of air- port Minimum Standards, the frequency of reviewing and updating the document, the length of time to de- velop the document, the internal and external team members involved in developing or updating of the document, the use of external guidance, and the chal- lenges, issues, and/or problems encountered. • Approximately 45 percent of the respondent air- ports have adopted Minimum Standards within the last 10 years. • Approximately 45 percent of the respondent air- ports indicated that the airport’s Minimum Standards are reviewed on an annual basis. • Approximately 37 percent of the respondent air- ports indicated that the airport’s Minimum Standards are updated every 5 years (at a minimum), and ap- proximately 41 percent of the respondent airports indi- cated that the airport’s Minimum Standards are up- dated every 5 to 10 years. • Approximately 75 percent of the respondent air- ports take less than 12 months to complete the devel- opment and/or updating process. • The respondent airports indicated that reaching consensus on requirements, enforcing standards, and having the time to review/update Minimum Standards are the most common challenges, issues, and/or prob- lems encountered during the development and/or up- dating process. The questionnaire revealed the following information about attitudes regarding airport Minimum Standards: • Of the respondent airports having Minimum Stan- dards, approximately 85 percent believe that the air- port’s Minimum Standards are achieving the intended role and purpose. • Lack of enforcement and the need to update the airport’s Minimum Standards were cited as the most pressing issues at airports where Minimum Standards are not achieving the intended role or purpose. • For the most part, the respondent airports believe that Minimum Standards are a great tool to ensure a level playing field and promote fair competition and that Minimum Standards should be adopted, enforced, and kept current. C. Interviews Twenty-eight leaders in the airport industry were in- terviewed to gather additional information regarding commercial aeronautical activities occurring at airports and the development and application of airport Mini- mum Standards. The individuals interviewed repre- sented various organizations that serve aviation stake- holders in all segments of the aviation industry and included government agencies, major airport industry trade associations, airports, FBOs, and industry suppli- ers and vendors. The interview questions and a summary of the re- sults of the interviews are provided in Appendix C. The following information provides a brief summary of the responses: • Several interviewees indicated that Minimum Standards serve to “level the playing field” and/or to “promote fair competition” at airports. It is important to note, however, that the FAA does not require that Minimum Standards equalize all competitive factors. While the FAA has stated that Minimum Standards serve to “reasonably protect the investment of providers of aeronautical services to meet minimum standards from competition not making a similar investment,”52 the FAA has also indicated that, “There is no Federal requirement that an airport sponsor equalize the capi- 52 FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-7 § 1.2(d)(3).

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TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 11: Survey of Minimum Standards: Commercial Aeronautical Activities at Airports explores source material for adopting and enforcing minimum standards that airport owners and operators commonly impose on businesses that perform commercial aeronautical activities that occur at airports.

Examples of aeronautical activities include aircraft fueling, line (ground handing) services, maintenance and repair, storage, rental and flight training/instruction, sales, and charter and management. The report also explores current practices in the area of minimum standards and includes a compendium of comparative minimum standards.

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