Steve Podradchik, CEO
November 22, 2011
FAA DATA PRICE CHANGES
Welcome
The FAA is Not Evil
But they are struggling
to make sense of a
post-paper world
The Problem
Paper Out, Digital In
(Numbers not correct; only to make general point)
100
90
Percent of Pilots Using
80
70
60
50
Paper
40
Digital
30
20
10
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Agenda
 Seattle Avionics
 The FAA
 Paper
 The Capt. Jepp Era
 Digital
 The Google Era
 The Shape of Things To Come
 Black Friday
Seattle Avionics
The FAA
 Since 1926 (Air Commerce Act)
 1956. FAA
 Mission
 Our continuing mission is to provide the safest, most
efficient aerospace system in the world.
 Vision
 We strive to reach the next level of safety, efficiency,
environmental responsibility and global leadership. We are
accountable to the American public and our stakeholders.
 Exceptional Record of Digital Innovation (d-TPP, etc.)
 Congressional Mandate to Pay For Themselves but
Not Make a Profit
Paper
 The Only Way
 FAA vs. Jeppesen
 The FAA is the ultimate source of all data
 Jepp: $1,241 for Paper
 Only 48 states
 Not including VFR charts
 Leather binder - $94
 FAA (AeroNav): $ 3,000+ for Paper
 $ 954 / year for all US Sectionals
 $ 787 / year for all US IFR charts
 $ 1,723 / year for all 16,000+ plates and apt diagrams
Digital
 Jepp: $787 for Electronic
 Only 48 states, No VFR
 $899 for High Performance
 FAA: $0 or Nearly So
 But has not always been true
 Most iPad and PC-based solutions offer entire US data
sets for between $75 and $300 per year
 Encourages Pilots to Fly with Full Set of Current,
Legal, and Safe Data
 Relatively Easy to Download
 Very Different than Most Other Countries – Canada,
Australia, Etc.
Digital Safety and Innovation
 Digital means safer because it’s easier and
cheaper to be legal
 Contrast with other countries
 Low base price allows – in fact forces – companies
to be innovative
 Geo-Referenced Approach Plates
 Seamless Sectionals and IFR Charts
 More goodies to come
 FAA has said that some distribution is dangerous
but there is no evidence for that – and plenty to
the contrary
What the FAA Did Recently
 During the summer, they simply didn’t publish
some digital data on their usual schedule. No
explanation given.
 A few weeks later, they stated that digital data
would now be available just 24 hours in advance
rather than the usual 2 weeks. No explanation
given.
Massively Bungled PR
What Do They Plan To Do
 Unclear
 Meeting in Mid-December for Industry
 With paper, they recently stopped selling to small
FBOs and just to major distributors like Sporty’s.
Small FBOs buy charts from Sporty’s just like
individuals. Safety impact? Saved $
 Large $ Gap to Recoup
 Will Charge by Customer? By chart? Tiers?
Pricing
 Unclear but hard to imagine prices not increasing
 The FAA has recently shown flexibility and
openness
 Different pricing for IFR and VFR data?
 Differential pricing?
 Commercial use (United Airlines, Jeppesen)
 Corporate jets
 Light GA (C172, etc.)
 Any additional products?
Some Thoughts
 Things are up in the air but the FAA is listening
 Many members of Congress are pilots
 AOPA is an exceptionally effective lobbying group
 User-fees come up all the time but are always
defeated
 The US budget is in bad shape
 Congress can’t even pass a bill to keep the FAA
alive for more than a year at a time
Black Friday Specials
 Seattle Avionics has sold Lifetime ChartData
subscriptions in the past
 For obvious reasons, we cannot continue to do this
 Last chance to buy Lifetime ChartData will be on Black
Friday (this Friday)
 Lifetime is Lifetime
 Specials announced by email and Twitter on Friday.
Very limited quantities
 Windows, iPad, Certified, etc.
 Email: Black.Friday@seattleavionics.com
 Twitter: http://twitter.com/SeattleAvionics
Questions?