Airline survey: Travelers oppose airport fee hike

Travelers overwhelmingly oppose increasing fees on airline tickets that help pay for airport improvements, according to an airline survey released Tuesday.

More than four in five travelers (82%) oppose nearly doubling the fees, as President Obama and airport industry groups have proposed, according to the survey of 1,026 registered voters conducted Feb. 16-19 by the Tarrance Group.

About two-thirds of travelers (65%) consider the fees called Passenger Facility Charges a tax, according to the survey sponsored by the industry group Airlines for America, which represents the largest airlines. Each response had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

"The lack of a crisis in airport funding hasn't prevented some from trying to invent one," said Nicholas Calio, the airline group's CEO.

The survey is the latest salvo in a battle that is expected to rage for the rest of the year between airlines and airports, as Congress debates aviation spending and multi-year policy legislation.

Todd Hauptli, CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives, questioned how airlines could quibble with facility fees while raising money through bag fees and other charges.

"Surprise, surprise, an airline-sanctioned survey reached a conclusion supported by the airlines," Hauptli said. "We are eager to see how respondents view bag fees and other ancillary charges that hit passengers with billions of dollars in added costs that do nothing more than flow to the pockets of the airline industry."

Two Indiana lawmakers asked Tuesday at a House hearing about Federal Aviation Administration policy whether the fees should be raised.

Republican Rep. Todd Rokita asked whether the agency should raise the cap on fees or "tweak" the way federal grants are distributed to airports.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta replied that "the thought here is that large airports have the ability to raise revenues based on their own activities."

Democratic Rep. Andre Carson said "we all know" that current fees aren't enough for airports to finance projects. He asked whether it's possible or even realistic for airports to make improvements without the fee.

Huerta said the administration believes it is time to raise the cap on fees. The proposal is basically adjusting the fees for inflation.

"The PFC is a very important tool in their tool box," Huerta said.

In a separate interview, Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said the airport "is focused on using existing federal funds for airport improvements, which do not affect the bottom line pricing of an airline ticket," rather than increasing Passenger Facility Charges.

"It is the more pragmatic approach," Rodriguez said, to maintain a first-class facility and support construction jobs.

Airports have argued that the cap of $4.50 per ticket on fees, which are set locally, should be raised to $8.50 per ticket, to improve terminals.

Shabby terminals have been criticized nationwide. Vice President Joe Biden comparing New York's LaGuardia to the Third World a year ago.

Obama has proposed for several years to raise the cap to $8. In exchange, he would reduce a federal grant program to $2.9 billion from $3.35 billion, with less funding targeted for the largest airports.

Airlines oppose higher fees because of concerns they will discourage travel. At $4.50 per leg, the fees now total $18 on a connecting, round-trip flight and could reach $34 on a connecting round-trip if flying through airports with the top rate.

The industry group Airlines for America, which sponsored the survey, plans advertising opposing a fee hike. One ad shows the cost of a hamburger "modernized" from $4.50 to $8.50.

"Voters correctly believe that airports have plenty, yet passengers are taxed enough," Calio said.