i think i know why!! A) It is i believe perfectly legal to get somebody to sign a properly drafted lease agreement, albeit just for a short period, and then let them pay a commercial Pilot seperately, arms length from the owner. This is i believe a private flight as per the rules.. and then B) there is the little point of if you make over 50% of all flying in this country illegal then all the owners AND pilots who work in this area will pack up....then all the a/c that rely on a bit of subsidy will have to be sold.....by which time there will be no need for the CAA as there will be virtually no aviation left, except of course for the very wealthy cruising around in twins ! The benefits of leasing ? example...you can lease a 206 for say £220 dry but charter can be £600 and you can lease my AS350BA for £450 and pay £800+ for charter ! I beliave that if you reduce the prices many more people will fly therefore making the operating costs much lower.....my insurance is £100 per hour but could come down to £25 ! same with all fixed costs. 90% of the people who lease would not pay full charter rates and would be lost and all the revenue that goes into maintenance,parts , new a/c would also be lost.