Airlines Drop User Fee Demand

Finally admitting that the air traffic control system revolves around them, the Air Transport Association has dropped its effort to impose a $25 user fee per flight which would have cost regionals hundreds of millions of dollars. They have also admitted that a blip is no longer just a blip at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee last week. Now they simply want a reduction in the fees they pay and a hike in the fees general aviation pays. A new ticket tax was proposed by Delta COO James Whitehurst, representing the ATA at the hearing, which would include a fixed, per-passenger departure tax in addition to a tax based on how far the passenger travels. For a complete analysis see the next issue of Regional Aviation News. Related Story