From: Shane, Jeffrey N. [mailto:jnshane@hhlaw.com] 

Sent: Wednesday, November 25,20094:23 PM 

To: Kurland, Susan COST); Fornarotto, Christa COST) 

Subject: Future of u.s. Aviation 

Dear Susan and Christa -

Many thanks for allowing me to be part of the very interesting Forum on November 12th. It was a great event, I 

thought, particularly because it made the vast scope of aviation policy so abundantly clear to everyone. 

I have attached a short paper setting forth my responses to the Secretary's three questions. I know that the list of 

industry categories will strike some as overlong. In my experience, however, you'll be buying yourselves a lot of 

unnecessary trouble if you attempt to limit the scope of the advice the Secretary is seeking. The way to deal with 

the size problem is through subcommittees and careful agenda-setting. 

Finally, you might be surprised to see business aviation listed so prominently in my suggested five issues. 

Business aviation, however, has taken a disproportional hit from the economic downturn and that part of the 

industry has shed many more jobs, proportionally, than other parts. None of us can predict how well business 

aviation will do in the longer term, but in the interest of a major provider of U.S. aviation employment, we should 

ensure that government is not inadvertently exacerbating business aviation's problems. Also, business aviation 

will have a lot to say about what can be accomplished through reauthorization -- particularly in your quest for a 

sustainable way to fund NextGen and system operations for the future -- and therefore it's important that they be 

in the tent. 

I'm sure you are getting way more advice than you think you need at the moment, but please don't hesitate to let 

me know if you ever want to kick any of these ideas around. 

Have a great Thanksgiving! 

Best regards, 

Jeff 
November 25, 2009 

TO: Susan Kurland 

FROM: 

RE: 

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, DOT 

Christa Fornarotto 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International 

Affairs, DOT 

Jeff Shane, Hogan & Hartson, LLP 

Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) on Aviation Industry 

1. How many members should the FAC have? 

The "aviation industry" is in fact a large collection of industries. As such, the FAC is 

sure to miss key issues unless it includes representation from most or all elements or 

subgroups. The FAC therefore should not be less than 50 individuals, each 

representing a leading aviation company or a broader aviation interest group. (Because 

views are likely to differ even within a particular subgroup, more than one representative 

of the larger subgroups - e.g., the airline industry -- should be accommodated.) 

Important prerequisites to getting real value out of any FAC are the formulation of a 

clear and productive agenda and the organization of the work. To prevent meetings 

from becoming so large as to be unwieldy, the FAC should be organized into subcommittees. Most meetings would be meetings of sub-committees, with periodic 

"plenaries" to ensure that everyone is fully apprised of the Committee's deliberations 

and recommendations. 

2. What mix of participants should the FAC include? 

• Combination air carriers 

• Regional and commuter air carriers 

• All-cargo air carriers 

• Express cargo air carriers 

• On-demand charter air carriers 

• Fractional aircraft ownership programs 

• Business aviation (including corporate flight departments) 

• Private/general aviation operators of small aircraft 

• Airport operators (including general aviation and commercial airports) 

• Organized labor (pilots, flight attendants, machinists, ramp workers, etc.) 

• Investment banking community 

• Airframe and engine manufacturers 
2 

• Aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers 

• Technology organizations and vendors (ARINC, MITRE, RTCA, avionics 

suppliers) 

• Consumer organizations 

• Economic consultants specializing in aviation 

3. What are the top five issues the FAC should address in creating a roadmap for 

the future of the U.S. aviation industry? 

• FAA reauthorization, with an emphasis on NextGen (planning, funding, equipage) 

• Future of business aviation 

• Aviation and climate change 

• Airport congestion 

• Reinforce and expand established policy on competition and liberalization -

Open Skies, alliances, antitrust immunity, access to capital