## A travel organization on Tuesday called
for major changes to the nation-s aviation system, including how to pay for it
and eliminating a tax loophole that it says encourages airlines to charge extra
fees for services like checked bags//
U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow
said the group-s plan is *realistically achievable in the current political
climate* and *stops the incessant kicking the can down the road with no real
improvement//*
## The centerpiece of the plan is to
eliminate five passenger aviation taxes// The net effect on a domestic airline
ticket would be a reduction of between $9//50 and $25//50, based on a base
average round trip airfare of $340, according to U//S// Travel-s calculations//
## However, the group advocated raising an
airport fee, called a passenger facility charge, from $4//50 per ticket to $8//50,
and permanently adjusting the fee for inflation//
## The change would have a pro consumer
benefit, the group said// It would eliminate airlines incentive to collect
revenue through what airlines call ancillary fees, such as for bags and ticket
changes// The IRS in 2009 ruled that those fees are not subject to taxation,
which the group said resulted in *unleashing a major move toward fees by
airlines that has been roundly criticized by travelers//*
## Eliminating the Domestic Passenger Ticket
Tax, one of the five it proposes axing, would remove the airlines incentive to *shelter
mass amounts of revenue in fees,* the USTA said//
## Raising the airport fee would also allow
U//S// airports to modernize// In surveys and rankings, they typically don-t
rank in the top 25 even though the U//S// has some of the busiest airports,
including O-Hare International in Chicago, which is the busiest in the world
when counting passenger and cargo traffic//
## Among those modernizations could be
expanding airport terminal space, allowing new airlines to compete in markets
now dominated by one or a few airlines// *The potential effects for prices and
service could be tremendous,* the USTA said//
## The fee would also provide a source of
funding for airports that sidesteps airlines, which typically pay for airport
improvements and today have the power to block major projects, the group said//
## Airlines have been opposed to raising the
airport fee, saying it-s unnecessary//
##The travel group also suggested changing
the air traffic control system to be a *user fee model//* Airlines and other
users of the air traffic control system would pay a new independent, nonprofit
organization that would provide air traffic services, instead of the Federal
Aviation Administration//
