According to the regulator GA, will be replaced with aerial work, scenic flights within 50 mile of the base, and part135 or light RPT less than 9 pax. Part 135 from what I understand will end GA as to meet compliance to a RPT standard with check and training, miantiance management and a lot of current remote ALA's will no longer meet standards this mean charter will no longer be available, at a reasonable cost in small aircraft as the increased cost in employing or outsourcing the extra compliance staff, to basicly do the same thing as we are doing now means the cost of a remote charter under part 135 will be beyond the budget of the small companies and communities that now use these services. We will price ourselves out of the market, not so we as Bosses or owners can make more money but just to comply and because of perceived safety issues in GA.
I have never owned my own business and can only imagine the pressures that decent bosses have to undergo in order to keep everything ticking over and ensure that everyone benefits from their efforts in the company. I believe that Part 135 will involve more money being spent in the short term to comply with the inevitable bureaucracy that will arise from a new set of rules being applied in a new area and I empathise with the added pressure this will bring to those owners who need to ensure compliance. I am certainly no expert whatsoever in the area of the differing rules but I do see a large variance in operations between various operators and too much reliance being placed on differing FOIs, their relationship with the bosses, how CASA views various 'personalities' etc. What I would hope Part 135 rules would bring would be a level playing field, much easier visibility of what is being done right and wrong and, eventually, less bureaucracy as everybody settles into the 'new way' of doing things with a much clearer rule set than is currently in place. I accept the argument of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but I don't think that is the case in Australian GA today and some parts of the industry do need addressing. I find it quite galling that some operators can get away with a nod and wink to a friendly FOI while others get run through the mill because they've had an argument with their's in the past. Too many individual personalities with too many individual takes on the matter.
Other countries have had to go through the same pains as they've been forced to adopt new rules and these pains have cost many operators lots of money and, in many cases, forced them out of business. However, when the dust has settled they have ended up with a standard across the industry that holds up to scrutiny under the gaze of the public, that needs the protections and guarantees of safety the rules provide. Whether this will ever be the case with CASA, who seem to out-do the rest of the world in terms of cronyism, bureaucracy, cost and inefficiency I don't know but I do know Australian GA has to move forward and can't remain forever doing things the way they've always been done because that's how it's always been done.
I do think Part 135 will adversely affect GA in the short term and I am sure there will be job losses as some companies cannot run a solvent business and comply with the inevitable cost increases it will bring. Many charters etc will be cancelled because firms are not going to be prepared to burden the price increases and, of course, there will be fewer tourists who want to pay an extra $XX to fly around the bay. But with my rose-coloured glasses on I can also foresee a time when everyone gets used to the new standard cost. Much as we all do when the prices go up at the petrol pumps, we'll bitch and moan about it and then pay the price anyway. But, unlike the petrol station where we're paying more for the exactly the same product as yesterday, at least with Part 135 it will be (so long as it's not buggered up by CASA) a better industry than at present and have a more stable and transparent regulatory standard in the future.
I think I will now step away from the wine bottle because having just read what I've written it sounds like one of those 'guarantee' letters we get from CASA that everything will be alright, mate. However, in spite of the red, I do believe what I've written and it would be such a shame to delete it all. If nothing else it'll get someone angry and stimulate debate
Cheers
hic.