Aviation Business Journal 3rd Quarter 2012 - 18

James K. Coyne
Continued from page 17

use general aviation that a direct user fee would. Having our members take this issue, individually, to Members of Congress has been the reason we’ve been able to prevent it. It’s been a big, long effort for NATA and I know we’re going to have to continue that fight for many years ahead, but keeping user fees out of the equation has been an important factor in our ongoing success story.

You’ve spoken a lot about the importance of making connections, on Capitol Hill and in NATA members’ local communities. Let’s talk about the importance of connections within NATA and the continuing growth of NATA events like the annual Air Charter Summit as well as all the seminars and webinars that have come to create value for NATA members.
Both our in-person events and our webinars are important parts of what we do. We were one of the first in our aviation community to have educational webinars for training, and we’ve also put together customized face-to-face meetings like the Air Charter Summit, the FBO Leadership Conference, and the Aviation Business Roundtable, which are all now considered very important annual gatherings for our community. There are very many wonderful events for customers and aircraft managers and vendors, but I really wanted to focus on the ones that reflect the interests of owners of businesses. I was a businessman before I came into politics. I spent 10 years running a small business, and I have a lot of

empathy for the challenges that small business owners have. Many business people think of themselves as 24-7 business people because they’re thinking about their businesses around the clock, but in our community it really is 24-7! And not only are you thinking about it, but there’s always something that can happen. I don’t think any other industry even begins to face the kinds of aroundthe-clock business challenges that our members face. I have a lot of respect for our members and the tough job they have to run their businesses. That’s why I think it’s important to bring members together to focus on the unique needs of our businesses and not on glad-handing with suppliers or shiny new bells and whistles on airplanes or whatever. What our members are most interested in are meetings that just focus on what they have to do to make their businesses more profitable and more successful. I guess that’s the one word that I would emphasize in my philosophy: Profit. The reason the association exists is to help our members make more profit, because without more profit there isn’t more growth, there aren’t more benefits to our country. Everything depends upon our members being more profitable. Part of that, of course, is making more connections, because connections help you expand your business, get new financing and new partners and build new relationships. But also it’s just learning about what works and what doesn’t work, what new ideas or technologies are worth exploring, what new insurance ideas or new ideas in recruiting or accounting

or regulation or investment strategies or banking will help your business become more successful. Our meetings are focused on all of the business issues that people who run a business have to deal with, and I think we’ve been a success because of those meetings.

When you hear from the members’ perspective, what is the most valuable benefit of NATA membership?
I think most of our members look at us as a knight holding a sword here in Washington, standing up against the dragon of the government on their behalf. A majority of our members really feel that we are the only thing that keeps the government from putting them out of business. They really look at government as a very anti-business challenge, whether it’s a local government or the FAA or the TSA or the IRS or OSHA or whatever...it is something that, in the long run, is going to make their lives much harder. Our members tell me they want a passionate advocate here in Washington to be their go-to resource when they have a challenge or a problem, whether it’s on something big and complex like user fees or on the tiny details like sentences in a particular bill that can end up being entirely misinterpreted and causing a lot of problems. What I’ve been able to do is to help them understand that we can turn that around, that we can make government much more of a partner with us and an advocate for us. We can help stop government from doing the bad things that politicians are prone to do if left to their own devices.

Aviation Business Journal | 3rd Quarter 2012

Aviation Business Journal 3rd Quarter 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aviation Business Journal 3rd Quarter 2012