Is Jeppesen a monopoly?

[mzaharis]

Dumb newbie question #5:

Why is Jeppesen the only supplier of charts and approach plates? Has the FAA, in effect, established them as a monopoly, by having them as the only provider of charts/plates? Are there any other companies that supply FAA-approved charts and plates that compete with Jeppesen?

 

[JeffSKDTW]

No. The government also supplies charts--much cheaper in fact.

 

[cessna_driver2]

Jepp is actually owned by boeing now.

 

[some_dude]

Often referred to as "NOS" charts, although that is not the correct name any longer.

http://www.naco.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=naco/index

I've had to suffer using them the last few months thanks to a chief pilot who is a believer.

 

[mattpilot]

I prefer NOS over Jepp

 

[avbug]

Jeppesen does not hold an "authorization" by the government to publish charts. Jeppesen does what anybody could do; utilizes government data to publish their charts. The truth is that the PIC is still ultimately responsible to determine the accuracy of the data.

Air Charts does the same thing, though their products aren't particularly user friendly. Jepp does database updates for a number of flight management systems, GPS units, etc. Other manufacturers do the same.

Jeppesen is a strong name and a well established company providing aeronautical publications, but has no corner on the market...anybody could compete. The same information that Jeppesen uses to produce their publications could be had by you, or anybody else, to do the same thing.

Jepp has made some innovative changes that made their charts much easier to use, such as the current briefing strip format. Notice that the NACO charts shortly began to follow suit, and to make improvements to catch up with the way in which Jepp has offered their publications.

Truth is, Jepp makes a pretty darn good product.

 

[efiscompmon]

Technically, they would be an oligopoly of one.

 

[seethru]

I've enjoyed both Jeppesen's and NOS products. However we almost always use Jep. I've liked their charting style and symbology.

I'm just curious how Boeing's acquisition of Jeppesen is going to screw up their product. You know the saying, "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is".

Greg