The big-bore hunting guns are out in force these days and the airlines are in the crosshairs.

Let’s begin with the hatchet job done last week by Time magazine. In a piece called, “A brief history of the industry’s 30-year campaign to nickel-and-dime us nearly to death,” a trio of Time “reporters” throw facts, objectivity, and fairness out the window. The end result is, “20 Reasons to Hate Airlines.” So hapless is the attempt that it blames airlines for the liquid ban that’s enforced at security check points. The piece is pure pandering in the style of Frank Magid.

Time isn’t the only one pandering…

Congressman James Oberstar has declared himself the absolute enemy of the merger of United and Continental Airlines. He says if the merger goes through, he’ll introduce legislation to re-regulate the airline industry. He says the airlines, “work night and day trying to figure out how to squeeze more money out of this turnip they’ve got in their hand, and I’m determined that won’t happen.” Never mind that the current cost of fare, when adjusted for inflation, in below 1990 levels…

Listen…those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that we pull no punches when it comes to the ways of airlines—especially when it comes to customer service. But pandering of the sort described here serves no useful purpose. The financial condition of the airlines is VERY fragile. If the rhetoric of Oberstar, and others, is carried out it would likely weaken the industry further and reduce airline service across the country. That would serve no one.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, announced on Sunday that he’s taking aim at carry-on fees. Last Tuesday Spirit announced it will start charging $45 for carry-on bags, effective in August. Schumer wants the government to forbid airlines from charging carry-on fees.

Schumer’s approach is unique. According to the Associated Press, he doesn’t want the U.S. Department of Transportation to tackle the issue through rule making––he wants the Treasury Department to do it.

The Associated Press paraphrases Schumer as saying, ‘Carry-on fees artificially avoid higher ticket prices and the taxes applied to tickets.’ In essence, Schumer is accusing airlines of tax evasion.

Oh, brother…

While most of us in the airport industry certainly agree with the idea that the airlines are really pushing this bag fee thing too far, to accuse them of tax evasion is over the top. The airlines aren’t exactly making money hand-over-fist. In their defense, they’re simply looking for a way to make up the difference. What would the senator think if the airlines just added $45 to every fare? Would he be fine with that?

?????

Beware of politicians trying to dictate travel policy.

“Poorly.”

How’s that for a loaded word? Guess what? A “journalist” is flinging it as us.

According to Wednesday’s Robert Murdoch publication, Wall Street Journal, “The FAA this year has directed about $272 million in stimulus funds — or roughly 25% of the $1.1 billion provided to the agency for airport work — to projects that scored poorly on the agency’s national priority rating system, which the FAA uses to grade potential projects.” The paper attributes this information to a so-called “government watchdog group,” called Subsidyscope.

As you’ve guessed by now, our airport has one of these allegedly poor projects—it’s our new taxiway project.  Earlier this year the FAA gave us $14.8 million of federal stimulus money to build taxiway “whiskey.”

The paper’s story has a sidebar list and we’re at the very top of it. The heading says:

Justified? Although projects with national priority ratings below 62 may have questionable economic merit, many airports are receiving federal stimulus funds for them.

Right below that text it shows shows our airport. Our priority rating is listed as 49 and it shows we received “$14.9 million.”

What Mister Murdoch’s publication fails to report is that while our project allegedly scored “poorly” on the FAA’s  national priority rating system for stimilus projects, it did meet safety requirements. In other words, the safety concerns addressed by the project gave the project the boost it needed to garner federal stimulus money.

Read more about the taxiway project here.

Before reading this, you really ought to read this previous post…

Greg Principato, the president of Airports Council International, gets the last world on the silly report issued by the Business Travel Coalition.

On second thought, Michael Boyd (no relation to me) gets the last word!

I’ve received several inquiries about a report issued a week or two ago by the Business Travel Coalition.

The report is long on sensationalism and short on facts. Here’s a quote:

“Not only are U.S. airlines and their passengers facing their darkest future, but fast-approaching airline liquidations will cripple the U.S. economy that depends on affordable, frequent intercity air transportation.”