--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "4/16 Associated Press" <batn@...> wrote: Published Wednesday, April 16, 2007, by the Associated Press Fliers' fees benefit corporate execs, private pilots With little oversight, billions in federal aid going to small airports By Bob Porterfield Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO -- The federal government has taken billions of dollars from the taxes and fees that airline passengers pay every time they fly and awarded it to small airports used mainly by private pilots and globe-trotting corporate executives. Some of these "general aviation" facilities used the federal dollars -- more than $7 billion during the past decade -- for enhancements such as longer runways and passenger terminals aimed at luring traffic, an Associated Press review has found. And the money comes with little oversight, and at the expense of an increasingly beleaguered air transportation system. "They're making out like bandits," said Bob Poole, director of transportation studies at Southern California's Reason Foundation and the author of several studies on air transportation costs. "It's not only that airline passengers are paying more than their fair share, but they're being overtaxed to give private jets a free ride." Passengers pay as many as six separate taxes and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion since 1997, the AP found. Yet these assessments often are overlooked by the millions who click the "buy" button to purchase tickets online, even though they can exceed 25 percent of the total air fare. Meanwhile, travelers deal with more hassles than ever. In 2006, more passengers were bumped or had flights delayed or bags lost than in 2005, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating report released earlier this month. "What are people getting for their money?" said Kenneth Button, a professor of transportation at George Mason University's School of Public Policy and an expert on air transit taxation. "Delays are increasing. How can consumers make a sensible assessment on how the money is being spent? You need an abacus to figure out all the costs." Congress will decide later this year whether to curtail the huge public subsidy for small airports. Pilots' associations, airport managers and other interested groups are fighting to keep it. Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association, which represents 8,000 operators of private jets and other aircraft, said all Americans benefit from the proliferation of small airports throughout the country. They aid emergency preparedness and critical services, such as medical evacuations and mail delivery, he noted. Without help from the federal government in the form of passenger taxes, many would be unable to survive, Bolen said. "Not all aircraft are the same, nor do they impose the same costs on the system," he said. "If we were grounded tomorrow, the system would cost the same." Mark Cooper, of the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America, said the key question is whether passengers are paying for something and getting nothing in return. "It costs me more to park my car at National Airport than it costs to park a corporate jet," he said. The taxes and fees finance the Federal Aviation Administration and its air traffic control operations, as well as passenger and baggage screening, federal air marshals and police presence at the nation's commercial hubs. But hundreds of smaller airports also are among the beneficiaries. These run the gamut from remote rural airstrips serving crop-dusters and hobbyists to "executive" airports serving corporate jets and exclusive resort destinations: J.T. Wilson Field in Somerset, Ky., got more than $12 million since 2001, much of it through the influence of local Rep. Hal Rogers, a longtime Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee who uses the airfield for trips home. Wilson Field is home base to 26 small planes and one jet. Despite millions in improvements, including a passenger terminal, the airport has yet to see scheduled commercial service. California's Napa Valley Airport collected $6.3 million in taxpayer dollars during the past two years, even though it mainly serves private jets and small planes, in addition to being a pilot training base for Japan Air Lines. Sardy Field, in the ultra-rich mountain playground of Aspen, Colo., has received $27.2 million in funding since 2005. Although Aspen does offer service by major airlines, private jets and other general aviation aircraft make up the majority of its traffic, airport officials said. Austin Municipal Airport, about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, is home base for 25 small planes and three jets, at least two of which are owned by Hormel Foods, a Fortune 500 company with headquarters nearby. Since 2000, the airport received nearly $16 million in federal funding. More than two-thirds of the takeoffs and landings are by small, private planes. James C. Johnson, a former FAA employee and pilot who is chairman of the local airport board, said the runway allows "corporate decision- makers to get in and out of here in a manner they like to travel." "We're not saying money shouldn't be going to those airports," said John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist at the Air Transport Association, a trade group representing the airlines. "We're saying it shouldn't be our money." Passenger taxes are collected in noncommercial aviation only in instances involving the fractional ownership of private jets, air charter operations and small commuter flights. Instead, it contributes to America's air transit infrastructure in the form of a fuel tax that covers just a fraction of the services it uses. A study released in February by the FAA said it cost $2.4 billion just to provide air traffic control for private and corporate planes in 2005. Yet the industry contributed just $516 million in fuel taxes that year. Another $500 million annually pays for weather forecasts and other preflight data for private pilots. These contribute to overall air safety, according to Andy Chebula, executive vice president for government affairs at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which represents more than 410,000 pilots and is lobbying heavily for retaining passenger taxes. If private pilots have to start paying for such things themselves, they just won't bother, Chebula said. --- End forwarded message --- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".