No doubt that the general and business aviation associations were high-fiving each other last Friday when President Obama signed an appropriations bill containing language that reinstates the Block Aircraft Registration Request (Barr) program through the end of Fiscal Year 2012 (Sept. 30, 2012). The Department of Transportation (DOT), the FAA’s parent agency, ended the tail-number blocking program in early August, citing the need for more transparency in government.
The reason was a fairly weak cover for what appears to be a political initiative pushed by DOT Secretary Ray La Hood, possibly even at the behest of his boss, President Obama. It didn’t matter what the aircraft owners and operators thought about the proposed changes to Barr; the more than 850 negative comments they submitted to the agency didn’t result in any changes to the original proposal. Basically, the DOT did what it wanted to do, damn everyone else.
Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group. He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion, the student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot magazine, he joined AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.
