Legal Considerations for General Aviation Lease Development at Airports (2024)
Chapter: APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS
- Does the lease contain a provision for the reversion of property and improvements at the termination of the lease?
- Does the lease contain a provision that allows the Lessor to make an election at termination whether the Lessee must remove improvements, alterations, or structures made or constructed during the term of the lease or whether the Lessor may accept the alterations as its property?
- Relocation: Does the lease contain a provision that describes the process and the costs associated with the relocation of the leased premises elsewhere on the airport?
- Restoration of the Premises Following Damage or Casualty: Does the lease contain a provision that requires one or the other party to rebuild or repair the premises in case of a casualty and that damages will not be limited to the amount of insurance?
- Holdover: Does the holdover provision in the lease contain a provision allowing damages in addition to any increased holdover rent, penalty, or damages?363
- Lease Extensions and New Leases for Existing Lessees: Does the airport have plans for the premises at termination of the lease (consult ALP and Master Plan)?
- Is an RFP necessary?
- Will an additional capital investment be necessary/required/appropriate?
- If so, what should be the financial terms of a new lease? (Investment Amount/Lease Term)
- Would an extension/new lease benefit the airport? The public? The community?
VII. CONCLUSION
As explained at the outset, this legal research digest collects and analyzes some of the most important provisions that appear in GA leases at airports. The digest uses annotated examples of lease provisions taken from airport leases taken from a wide variety of U.S. airports to provide (1) an analysis of the legal rules that affect the selected lease terms; (2) an explanation of the context for the relevant rules by referencing the common law origins and modern statutory and case law modifications of those rules; and (3) an explanation of the interests, preferences, and strategic positions taken by the parties during lease negotiations. The digest concludes with a checklist that identifies and summarizes the parties’ negotiating concerns, preferences, and strategies for GA lease development. Altogether, the information presented in this digest can assist airport counsel, staff, and current and prospective airport Lessees, in understanding, developing, negotiating, and drafting GA airport leases.
APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS
| ACRP | Airport Cooperative Research Program |
| ADO | Airport District Office |
| AIP | Airport Improvement Program |
| ALP | Airport Layout Plan |
| AMP | Airport Master Plan |
| AOPA | Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association |
| ASP | Airport Security Program |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Authority |
| FBO | Fixed Base Operator |
| FMV | Fair Market Value |
| FRV | Fair Rental Value |
| GA | General Aviation |
| LOC | Letter of Credit |
| NAS | National Academies of Sciences |
| PILOTs | Payments in Lieu of Taxes |
| SASO | Specialized Aviation Service Operation |
| TRB | Transportation Research Board |
| TSA | Transportation Security Administration |
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363Note that the amounts charged for a holdover should be reasonable.
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