American Airlines denies special treatment BY JUHEL BROWNE Trinidad Guadian 12,06.02 An executive from a regional airline operating at Piarco International Airport said American Airlines is being allowed to add the cost of a concourse fee to its passengers tickets. But Airports Authority has denied giving the airline preferential treatment. The fee costs every carrier US$5 per passenger. It is meant to cover the maintenance of the arrival and departure areas used by all the airlines operating out of the Piarco International and Crown Point airports. AATT acting general manager Rosalind Chinnia Ramadeen said revenues from the concourse fee go directly to the authority instead of the Consolidated Fund. Last month AATT chairman Linus Rogers said the authority was unable to earn $52 million in revenue because the proposed $100 per passenger Airport Improvement Fee was never implemented. The AIF would have been added to the overall cost of each flight ticket. "It is under the condition that is not an extra charge to the passenger," said Ramadeen. But the regional airline executive asserted American Airlines was doing otherwise. "It is unfair that American Airlines can charge their passengers that US$5 and the other airlines cannot charge the passengers and we have to pay for that out of our own pocket," he said. Requesting anonymity, the executive said this meant American Airlines alone had the ability to recover the cost of the concourse fee by charging passengers. "We have applied and the Airport Authority and ATLA (the Air Transport Licensing Authority) have not given us permission," the executive said. ATLA issues licences for commercial airlines to operate in T&T. Its chairman, Ramsaran Bissessar, was said to be out of the country. Ramadeen said the executive clearly misunderstood what American Airlines had been allowed to do with the concourse fee. She explained the concourse fee, like all other airport charges paid by the airlines such as landing fees, must not affect the price of an airline ticket. Of some of the airlines, she said, would like to make this an additional charge. Ramadeen said American Airlines approached the AATT again in August and with the approval of ATLA and the International Air Transport Association, was allowed to include the fee in its fares. Since last September, American Airlines has been including the fee in its fares. American Airlines had applied for the fee inclusion on its tickets since early 2001. "The authority's response at that time, we don't have a problem as long as the other regulatory bodies to approve," said Ramadeen. Nisha Maraj, general manager for American Airlines in T&T said the airline was the first to apply for the fee inclusion here. Maraj said the airline, therefore, was the first to be allowed to include the fee. "Consequently, most of the other airlines made applications. "We told them we would give the same permission with the same conditions. "I am not certain why they have not yet gotten permission," Ramadeen said. American Airlines, which has reduced its fares by US$80 on many of its flights, was able to satisfy ATLA and IATA it could include the fee without raising its fares. Ramadeen speculated the reason why the other airlines may not have yet included the fee on their fees could be because they are yet to satisfy the same requirement. Asked for a comment, BWIA, through its corporate communications director Clint Williams, offered no comment. Maraj denied American Airlines received any preferential treatment from the AATT. "At no time in all the 22 year we have been here there has been no such operating measure by the authority. "Nothing is done without local approval," she said. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Island Events) http://www.islandevents.com (Island Events) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************