Airlines got a $373 million dollar gift from the government when it
last year. What with the slide in fuel prices, these 37 U.S. and 71 foreign airlines have to be feeling
pretty flush
right now.
The fee, called ASIF was imposed after 9-11 so that airlines would contribute to the government takeover of airport security - which upuntil the terror attacks was the airlines' responsibility. In exchange for getting out from under the ASIF fee, I amtold, airlines agreed to drop their opposition to doubling the security feethat air travelers pay.
For each oneway segment of a journey, the passenger security contribution rose from$2.50 to $5.60. And just so that you are clear, airlines would pay not a dime.
What prompted American lawmakers to conclude that passengers should pay full freight and the airlines nothing, I can't say. I was told that the politiciansconcluded that the burden of security should be placed on those whodirectly benefit, that being travelers.
That's a curious rationale considering that one of the biggest burdens onairport security over the past few years has come as a consequence of bag fees. Once airlines started charging for checked bags, travelers who couldn't or didn't want to pay between $20 to $45 per bag, started toting them on the plane, which of course requires that those bags be added to the workload of TSA screeners.
In 2014,fifteen U.S. airlines collected $2.65 billion in bag fees, from Delta's $654million to Mesa's $883,000, that's a lot of money. But for every three passengers whopay up and fork over, one will cart the thing onto theairplane which is how some 59 million more roll-aboards, back packs and duffels went on thebelt in 2011 than in 2010 as I reported for The New York Times at the time. It isa good guess the number has increased over the past 4 years.
That airlines have found new ways to make money is fine anddandy. That's their business. But how they run their business becomes ourbusiness when their new revenue stream creates more work for federal workers and rather than pick up the cost, airlines shift them on to passengers with the U.S. government's help.