Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;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&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;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.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Online jet charter broker PrivateFly estimates that approximately half of the estimated £9.3 million in potential revenue from the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2013-03-14/uk-airport-departure-tax-extended-bizav-passengers">recent extension of the UK’s air passenger duty (APD) tax to business jets</a> will be lost to nonpayment in the first year. The extended tax, which became effective on April 1, applies to all flights departing from the UK.


Using flight activity data from WingX, PrivateFly said half of the potential APD tax revenue from the business aviation sector would be payable by operators flying non-domiciled aircraft upon departure from the UK. PrivateFly forecasts that most of these overseas operators will simply not pay the tax, resulting in the projected £4.6 million loss.


To collect APD, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is “applying the same logic for airlines to the highly fragmented private jet sector,” said PrivateFly CEO Adam Twidell. “However, it is very different from that of the airlines. More than 3,000 private jet companies flew into the UK in 2012. Routes are not scheduled and the aircraft behave like taxis.”


It is solely up to aircraft operators to register and pay APD, he said, and the system is bureaucratic and difficult to understand. “The result will be many aircraft operators ignoring the tax,” Twidell said. “And with private aircraft able to use more than 300 airports in the UK, the task of tracking down non-payers will be almost impossible.”

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

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News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

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