OP ED: User Fees Hurt Small Carriers

Travel managers beware: The major airlines are once again attempting to sell you a bill of goods. The new debate regarding the continuation of the federal air ticket tax, versus a new formula proposed by the majors that assesses a user fee, is nothing more than another ploy to maintain the high airfares your company already pays.

Hidden under the guise of "everyone should pay their fare share" is the fact that major carriers that can't compete with the cost structure of low-fare airlines are using a strategy to raise the costs of their smaller competitors. I am always amused at the examples the majors use, such as the one illustrated by Northwest's Elliott Seiden in "Ticket Tax Puts Burden On Corp. Buyer" (<I>BTN</I>, Jan. 27).

In his column, he states that a business traveler paying $780 for a ticket paid $78 in tax, while a leisure traveler who paid $180 for the same trip paid just $18. Mr. Seiden talks about "widely different amounts" in the taxes paid. If one wants to talk wild, look at the ridiculous rate the business traveler is paying compared to the leisure flyer in his own example. Is the problem for corporations the difference of $60 in taxes or $600 in the airfare? Travel managers know the true costs, and it's a problem that has plagued corporations ever since deregulation: Business travelers are being gouged by most major carriers.

It is important to note that even Mr. Seiden admits that the user fee is designed to replace the excise tax dollar for dollar. There are no additional funds or actions to improve our air transportation infrastructure, as he alluded to in the article. The coalition's proposal is not a "critical first step" to improve anything or reduce the costs to business travelers. It is instead a part of an ongoing effort to unfairly shift costs from major airlines to smaller, low-fare competitors.

Majors want to continue their lucrative unfair pricing practices by keeping low-cost alternatives out of the market. The ticket tax formula has been effective, and has allowed for additional competition and choices for all travelers, especially corporate flyers. The major airlines' coalition has nothing to do with improving the condition of our airports or air traffic control systems and has everything to do with limiting your choices and raising your costs.

<I>Steve Sarner is vice president of marketing and sales for RenoAir, Reno, Nev.