Testifying before Congress yesterday during a hearing on FAA reauthorization, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen directly challenged those who have recently questioned the value of business aviation or mischaracterized the use of business aircraft. During the House aviation subcommittee hearing, Bolen was asked about negative media coverage of the industry, an emerging pattern of disparaging the use of general aviation for business purposes and calls for companies to divest their business aircraft. “Business aviation is essential to America,” Bolen told the subcommittee. “Unfortunately, an understanding of that reality is not reflected in calls for companies to divest of their business airplanes. Instead, such proposals are prompted by a caricature of business aviation that is totally unrepresentative of our community, and dangerous. It’s dangerous because it’s costing jobs…threatening an entire manufacturing base…[and] taking away a tool many companies absolutely rely on to remain competitive and survive.” He concluded, “Instead of telling companies that they can’t use a general aviation aircraft to compete, survive and protect jobs, we should be looking for ways to increase general aviation manufacturing jobs, promote economic growth in communities without airline service and support companies’ efforts to be as productive and efficient as possible.”