Airlines to press Congress again WASHINGTON (Reuters) =97 U.S. airlines will press Congress this summer to=20 extend government responsibility for paying aviation security costs and to= =20 ease taxes on the industry, Delta Air Lines chief executive Leo Mullin said= =20 Monday. "We recognize that we want to have a private sector solution to the= =20 terrible challenges that we face," Mullin told reporters at an aviation=20 industry conference. "In order to have a shot of that we've got to have=20 better answers to these two issues." Mullin was not specific on whether the airlines want permanent help or some= =20 combination of security cost and tax relief over a fixed period. Congress=20 agreed in April to reimburse the struggling commercial industry $2.3=20 billion in security costs that they had paid the government since February= =20 2002. Much of that came from a passenger security fee of up to $10 per=20 round trip the airlines were forced to absorb because tickets have been=20 deeply discounted during the worst-ever downturn in business. Lawmakers=20 agreed to suspend that fee beginning this week through Sept. 30, the end of= =20 the current fiscal year, to save the airlines an additional $700 million.=20 The fee helps pay for government-run airport security improvements mandated= =20 after the September 2001 hijack attacks on New York and Washington. Delta received the largest reimbursement, $390 million, of any U.S.=20 airline. Mullin said the industry would "build very forcefully" on what he= =20 called a philosophical acceptance by government to pay for aviation=20 security. "There is much to be discussed with respect to a continuation of= =20 those responsibilities beyond this fiscal year," Mullin said. He also said= =20 the airlines would renew their push for tax relief, which was dropped=20 during this spring's debate on airline aid. Taxes can account for up to 26= =20 percent of a $200 round-trip ticket on a domestic flight, a figure that=20 some key lawmakers find excessive. "We generally are the most overtaxed=20 industry in the world," Mullin complained. "If this particular industry is= =20 to have a chance of recovering very much on its own the tax regime also=20 needs very serious attention." The Delta executive said the U.S. airline=20 industry =97 which lost a record $10 billion in 2002 =97 may not see a= pickup=20 in traffic until mid to late 2004. "We're in for another extremely tough=20 year here in the United States." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************