Cost of FAA shutdown could exceed $1 billion

[boutons_deux]

I understand what you implying. Are you also saying, as fact, that this price increases would not have happened if the federal tax was still there?

Prices always go up as an average over time. ... I used to pay 5 cents for a candy bar. they are almost $1 now.

How can you have such knowledge. Are you psychic?

The prices have gone up by THE SAME AMOUNT as the suspended taxes the day or day after the taxes were suspended. GFY

[CosmicCowboy]

Actually, it was on ABC news 2 nights ago. Including a trade association representative (airlines did not want to discuss it) explaining what amenities the airlines are hoping to provide with the difference they're pocketing...

The tax is now included in the price.

Sorry you got gamed by the airline. Happens to all of us really.

Damn, you are an arrogant little uninformed prick.

We buy airline tickets all the time and go to the west coast several times a year. Unlike you I apparently have real world experience with airline ticket prices as a consumer and don't have to rely on what I read in an article or "see on TV".

The tickets we got from SA to LA were as cheap as I have paid in years.

[boutons_deux]

CC, suck on this:

"Delta Airlines and US Airways have decided to refund some of the federal tax money for travelers who booked tickets before the shutdown."

http://consumerist.com/2011/08/senat...-shutdown.html

absolute proof that at least these two airlines were pocketing the money charged as taxes as their own, until they were caught.

[Wild Cobra]

CC, suck on this:

"Delta Airlines and US Airways have decided to refund some of the federal tax money for travelers who booked tickets before the shutdown."

http://consumerist.com/2011/08/senat...-shutdown.html

absolute proof that at least these two airlines were pocketing the money charged as taxes as their own, until they were caught.

Wow...

They are refunding some of the money. Why not all? Maybe because of the manpower it takes to process the tax refund. The purchases made before the shutdown had taxes included that are now not being collected. It doesn't mean something fishy is happening.

[ChumpDumper]

WC seems to prefer being insanely wrong instead of just wrong.

[Winehole23]

WC likes a long shot.

[boutons_deux]

Taxes on tix sold before the flight were collected for flights after the Repug shutdown.

Now that airlines have been caught pocketing the taxes they don't have to forward to FAA, they are returning "some" of the money.

I guess they figure they can suck out "handling, shipping, restocking, etc" fees.

[boutons_deux]

“The House has tried to make this a battle over essential air service,” he says. “It’s not a battle over essential air service. It’s a battle over Delta Airlines, who refuses to allow votes under the new rules that have been passed by the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board].”

The issue, Reid says, is Delta’s “non-union” stance. The bill to fund the FAA, as crafted by House Republicans, includes language that sets new rules for aviation workers’ votes on labor representation.

Reid isn’t quite right on the details, as the issue revolves around a rule crafted by the National Mediation Board, which oversees airlines and railroads, not the National Labor Relations Board. But his larger point is correct: the GOP is insisting on legislative union-busting and is willing to shut down the FAA in order to get its way.

Even some Republicans see through this charade, with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) saying “it’s not honorable” for the House GOP to attach extraneous policy riders to the FAA bill. The revenue that the government will lose over the next month dwarfs the cuts to rural airport subsidies that the House included in its bill.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/201...-union-stance/

=========

Hey, Kay honeybuns, why do you associate Repugs and honor? They're sociopathic, sadistic thugs.

[Wild Cobra]

Taxes on tix sold before the flight were collected for flights after the Repug shutdown.

Now that airlines have been caught pocketing the taxes they don't have to forward to FAA, they are returning "some" of the money.

I guess they figure they can suck out "handling, shipping, restocking, etc" fees.

Idiot.

Ticket sales for a date after the shutdown included the tax, but the tax will not be sent to Washington. This is being refunded. Who pays for the cost of refunding it though?

I'll bet you cannot show a single example of the tax being collected after this FAA shutdown was official.

[ElNono]

Damn, you are an arrogant little uninformed prick.

I'm uninformed? You walk in here saying the tickets are cheaper when it's old news most of them are pocketing the difference, and I'm uninformed?

We buy airline tickets all the time and go to the west coast several times a year. Unlike you I apparently have real world experience with airline ticket prices as a consumer and don't have to rely on what I read in an article or "see on TV".

"real world experience with airline ticket prices as a consumer" = booking a couple of tickets online? I buy airline tickets at least once a year, sometimes two or three times.

The tickets we got from SA to LA were as cheap as I have paid in years.

That's great you found a deal or picked one of the few airlines that didn't jack up the prices. Obviously, you'll have to forgive me if I give more credence to actual news than your anecdotal personal experience.

[boutons_deux]

"Ticket sales for a date after the shutdown included the tax, but the tax will not be sent to Washington."

that what I said, idiot.

My guess is that the airlines didn't charge any FAA fees, but they were raising prices so the flier saw no difference, and pocketing what would have been FAA fees.

[RandomGuy]

and moar jobz. MOAR JOBZ!

you only get moar jobz if you give money to t' Job Creators, otherwise its just wasted.

[Wild Cobra]

My guess is that the airlines didn't charge any FAA fees, but they were raising prices so the flier saw no difference, and pocketing what would have been FAA fees.

I disagree, and so does CC.

[ElNono]

I disagree, and so does CC.

AP adds background on the taxes:

The expiring taxes can total $25 or more on a typical $300 round-trip ticket. They died after midnight Friday night when Congress failed to pass legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running.

That gave airlines a choice: They could do nothing — and pass the savings to customers — or grab some of the money themselves.

"We adjusted prices so the bottom-line price of a ticket remains the same as it was before ... expiration of federal excise taxes," said American spokesman Tim Smith. US Airways spokesman John McDonald said much the same thing — passengers will pay the same amount for a ticket as they did before the taxes expired.

They declined to say whether the increases would be rescinded if Congress revives the travel taxes.

[Th'Pusher]

AP adds background on the taxes:

The expiring taxes can total $25 or more on a typical $300 round-trip ticket. They died after midnight Friday night when Congress failed to pass legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running.

That gave airlines a choice: They could do nothing — and pass the savings to customers — or grab some of the money themselves.

"We adjusted prices so the bottom-line price of a ticket remains the same as it was before ... expiration of federal excise taxes," said American spokesman Tim Smith. US Airways spokesman John McDonald said much the same thing — passengers will pay the same amount for a ticket as they did before the taxes expired.

They declined to say whether the increases would be rescinded if Congress revives the travel taxes.

Will WC continue to dig in his heels even after the airlines have admitted to pocketing the tax, or will he bow out and admit he was wrong?

[Wild Cobra]

Will WC continue to dig in his heels even after the airlines have admitted to pocketing the tax, or will he bow out and admit he was wrong?

But they didn't all do that, and those who did are probably losing fliers to other airlines.

[Th'Pusher]

But they didn't all do that, and those who did are probably losing fliers to other airlines.

So, continue to dig in your heels. Nice choice.

[ElNono]

So, continue to dig in your heels. Nice choice.

I never doubted it.

[boutons_deux]

Stalemate in Senate Leaves 4,000 Out of Work at F.A.A.

The partial agency shutdown, which began on July 23 and is likely to continue at least through Labor Day, has also idled tens of thousands of construction workers on airport projects around the country. Dozens of airport inspectors have been asked by the F.A.A. to work without pay and to charge their government travel expenses to their personal credit cards to keep airports operating safely.

Air traffic controllers and airplane inspectors, who are paid with separate accounts, have continued to work, but workers who oversee research on aviation systems, grants for airports and facilities and operations equipment have been furloughed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/us...2&pagewanted=1

[George Gervin's Afro]

CC, suck on this:

"Delta Airlines and US Airways have decided to refund some of the federal tax money for travelers who booked tickets before the shutdown."

http://consumerist.com/2011/08/senat...-shutdown.html

absolute proof that at least these two airlines were pocketing the money charged as taxes as their own, until they were caught.

I think he call ElNONO an uninformed prick..

[CosmicCowboy]

I think he call ElNONO an uninformed prick..

I did.

Any one of you bought airline tickets recently BESIDES me? I didn't have to read an article on the internet to know it was a good deal.

[Th'Pusher]

I did.

Any one of you bought airline tickets recently BESIDES me? I didn't have to read an article on the internet to know it was a good deal.

I buy tickets to the same destination on American Airlines every other week for work. I bought one last week. The total was the exact same price as the one I purchased two weeks before. Theoretically it should have been ~$20 less if the tax saving was being passed on to me (the company I work for).

[Wild Cobra]

I buy tickets to the same destination on American Airlines every other week for work. I bought one last week. The total was the exact same price as the one I purchased two weeks before. Theoretically it should have been ~$20 less if the tax saving was being passed on to me (the company I work for).

That's what you get for going with them. I don't care for AA at all.

[ElNono]

I did.

Any one of you bought airline tickets recently BESIDES me? I didn't have to read an article on the internet to know it was a good deal.

I'll be honest. Spurted by your contention I looked up for tickets last night for my annual trip to the Rio Grande Valley. Unfortunately, the prices were the same. I actually been waiting for Southwest to start flying from here (they finally started in March) hoping from cheaper tickets, but they're actually more expensive than American Airlines.

[ElNono]

That's what you get for going with them. I don't care for AA at all.

That's irrelevant to the point we're discussing. Sometimes only certain airlines travel certain routes. IE: If I want to travel to Texas, I can only fly in AA, Continental or Southwest. They all jacked up the price to match the lost tax.