This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Airlines Ask for More Money, Citing Higher Security Costs September 25, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (AP) - The airlines asked Congress for financial help today, saying security costs imposed after the terrorist attacks are hampering their recovery. Little more than a year after the government gave the airlines $5 billion in cash, airline executives asked the House aviation subcommittee to consider tax relief, reimbursement for security costs and an extension of the terrorism insurance policies issued by the government after the attacks. Leo F. Mullin, chief executive of Delta Air Lines, said about 40 percent of the industry's expected losses of as much as $7 billion this year could be attributed to security costs. Subcommittee members said they were willing to give the airlines some temporary help in a bill they are considering this week, but some lawmakers said the industry brought some of its problems upon itself. "The carriers seem unable to muster the discipline to reasonably price their product," said Representative James Oberstar, Democrat of Minnesota. The airlines blame lower passenger volume and higher fuel and security costs for expected losses of $6.8 billion to $7 billion this year. They also hope Congress will lower the amount they are required to repay the government for the costs of screening passengers and baggage. Before Sept. 11, airlines paid for security. After the attacks, the government took responsibility and airlines agreed to reimburse the cost. The airlines told the Transportation Security Administration that they spent about $300 million on security in 2000. But the Transportation Department's inspector general said that the big airlines said before Sept. 11 - and testified twice afterward - that they spent $1 billion annually on security. Michael Wascom, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group, said the $1 billion figure was only a rough estimate. The airlines want temporary suspension of taxes and fees, like the jet fuel tax, if the United States goes to war with Iraq, Mr. Wascom said. They also want more money for retrofitting cockpits with bulletproof doors. Although the government will pay about $14,000 a door, the cost is about $45,000, he said. The airlines want the government to take responsibility for screening caterers and food carts loaded onto airlines, Mr. Wascom said. Now, he said, only minimal screening is done. Finally, the airlines will ask for no increase in the $2.50 security fee travelers pay every time they board a plane. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/25/business/25AIR.html?ex=1033961385&ei=1&en=daa537e07d927a2c HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company