OPINION:
If you have packed your bags, headed to the airport and boarded an airplane this summer, you know that air travel is back and back with a vengeance! More than 4 million Americans took to the sky over the Independence Day weekend, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported more than 2.8 million travelers cleared security on June 30 setting a new record. U.S. airlines are staffed up and ready to meet this growing demand for air travel in addition to demand for cargo shipments with their largest workforce ever: 800,000 people all working for you—from pilots to cabin crew to gate agents, baggage handlers, maintenance technicians and more.
The good news for travelers is that robust brand competition is driving airfares down to historic lows. The intense competition among carriers which vie aggressively against one another for consumers, whether first-time travelers or repeat customers has given power to consumers, meaning travelers have vast selection when it comes to fare type and are empowered to choose the option best for their individual needs.
Additionally, airfares in the U.S. dropped more than 8% between May and June this year making air travel even more affordable for Americans, despite these inflationary times.
These lower fares help make air travel affordable and accessible for a wide range of travelers. It is remarkable to think that 90% of Americans have flown commercially at least once in their lifetime, and half have flown before their 16th birthday.
Unfortunately, some in Congress are trying to make it more expensive for families to fly with an unneeded increase in the airport tax, also known as the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). Americans for Tax Reform recently called the PFC “one of the many government-imposed costs charged to the flying public that drive up ticket prices.”
Considering that U.S. airports just received an additional $20 billion in federal grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, atop $20 billion in COVID relief funds, this is outrageous. Not to mention, there’s currently a surplus in the Aviation Trust Fund. Airports are flush with cash, but hard-working American families certainly are not.
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Buying four airline tickets means paying four times the airport tax. When the average family of four travels, they can currently pay $72 in airport taxes (or PFCs), a cost that airports are happy to hide in ticket prices. If a cap on the tax is doubled, as some have suggested, families will have to dole out $144 just to cover the cost of the PFC on a round trip, one-stop ticket. That’s money families would rather be spending at Disney or the beach, not filling airports’ coffers when it is least needed.
Already, some 20% of a typical airline ticket is folded-in government taxes and fees. In fact, U.S. government-imposed taxes on commercial aviation totaled around $20 billion (approximately $55 million per day) in 2022. Among the stated purposes of these taxes and fees are homeland security ($1 billion of that fee revenue goes to reduce the federal deficit), environmental protection, agriculture inspection, infrastructure enhancement, airport and airway operations and maintenance, and agency financing. U.S. and foreign taxes have grown in number, amount, and scope since their inception.
It’s important to note that airport taxes, PFCs, are tacked on each time a passenger boards an aircraft during their travel. Travelers flying to smaller rural communities, which require a layover more often than not, will suffer a disproportionate amount of PFC increases in comparison to the rest of the traveling public who frequently has access to direct flights.
Raising taxes on all air travelers would go far beyond the airlines and airports. Hotels and restaurants would be impacted, as would local businesses and tourist destinations across the country. And who would feel it the hardest? Those hardworking employees and the traveling public. They should not be left holding the bag.
Every day, American consumers flex their muscle and vote with their wallets when they chose which airline to fly, which airfare to purchase and which location to visit. In a national survey, American consumers once again spoke loudly, with more than 80% opposing any increase to the PFC. American consumers know what they don’t like and they don’t like an unnecessary, irresponsible increase in an onerous tax.
• Rebecca Spicer is Senior Vice President of Communications at Airlines for America (A4A), which promotes safety, security and a healthy U.S. airline industry. A4A works collaboratively with airlines, labor, Congress, the Administration and other groups to improve aviation for the traveling and shipping public.
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