Nav Canada approves new service charges
April 13th, 2006Nav Canada has decided to go ahead and charge small aircraft a daily fee of $10.00, starting in March 2008, for using any of Canada’s seven busiest airports (and the Vancouver harbour water aerodrome) — that’s on top of any landing fees, etc. charged by the airport authorities. Here’s their announcement. Here’s my response from last February, which still represents my opinion about the charges.
Nav Canada did decide to exempt aircraft from the fee when they divert to one of the major airports as a weather alternate, and they will not begin phasing in the fee this year as originally planned (unless I didn’t read the announcement carefully enough). Sadly, I think that this move may be enough to kill off the rest of the private aviation community at CYOW, ending a tradition that began in 1928 when the Ottawa Flying Club founded the airport.
April 13th, 2006 at 15:11:59-0400
Will this fee affect based aircraft as well? If so, where is OFC moving to? Where are you moving to?
April 13th, 2006 at 19:28:34-0400
The fee affects all aircraft, including those based at the airport. I don’t know what OFC will decide to do. I’m thinking about Rockcliffe, but the lack of an instrument approach there is a big issue for me.
September 8th, 2006 at 19:42:03-0400
[...] Now, thought, the costs are catching up with me. I have a very good deal on a tie-down spot with plug-in at the big airport, but when I add up landing fees and other costs, I figure that it’s costing me about $1,000/year more to park at Macdonald-Cartier than it will at Rockcliffe (they’re the same distance from my house), even when I factor in two diversions/year for weather and the resulting cab fares and parking expenses. Next year, when Nav Canada brings in their new user fees for large airports, I calculate that the price difference will jump to $1,500/year. I won’t guess how hard a commercial pilot like Aviatrix or Sulako has to work to make that much, but it’s a lot for me, too, especially with two daugthers hitting university in the next decade. [...]
November 26th, 2006 at 13:58:54-0500
[...] So much for that. I’ll add 45 minutes to my trip, clear customs for free (in Massena, NY or Burlington, VT), then land at one of the airports just outside MassPort’s ring of control and ride the commuter train in, as I’ve done three times in the past. Check out the MassPort fee page to see how easily bad government can take the fun out of flying — it makes the forthcoming Nav Canada big-airport user fees look tame in comparison. [...]
January 26th, 2007 at 08:31:41-0500
[...] hurt GA, especially if they are per use (as in Australia) rather than flat fees (as in Canada, with one misguided exception); however, I think that there are even bigger issues facing North American general aviation. Here, [...]
March 14th, 2007 at 15:26:34-0400
There are a number of issues facing general aviation. I do feel that user fees are definitely the ’cause of the moment’ however. Therefore, I have sponsored a Pledge Campaign on YouChoose.net and urge you all to sign in and support the fight against these fees. YouChoose can also be used to rally pilots around the other attacks on general aviation as well.
http://www.youchoose.net/pledge/no_general_aviation_user_fees/from/miked
March 29th, 2007 at 05:32:18-0400
[...] largely for the airlines’ benefit), and it’s even worse when organizations like Nav Canada or the FAA start acting as lobbyists for the [...]