Airline Competition: Passenger Facility Charges Represent a New Funding Source for Airports
RCED-91-39
Published: Dec 13, 1990. Publicly Released: Dec 13, 1990.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on ways to ensure that regulations covering passenger facility charges (PFC) would further congressional goals of enhancing airport capacity, safety, and security and reducing noise.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should consider additional methods of informing consumers about PFC. |
The final rule on PFC, issued May 29, 1991, requires airline price advertising to contain a general statement informing consumers that "up to $12 per round trip in local airport charges may be collected in addition to the advertised price." This is similar to the way other special fees and taxes are currently handled.
|
| Department of Transportation | To ensure that PFC-funded facilities increase competitive access, the Secretary of Transportation should require tenant airlines wanting to lease such new facilities to agree to accommodate other airlines at the unused or underused facilities the tenant airlines already lease, when their operations permit. |
The final rule contains assurances that PFC-funded facilities will not be subject to long-term exclusive-use leases or automatic rollover clauses, and that excess, as defined in the final rule, exclusive-use capacity will be made available to other airlines.
|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should establish criteria to clarify which airports will collect PFC on trips that do not easily fit into the legislation's one-way and round-trip limitations, such as open-jaw trips or trips with stopovers in numerous cities. |
The final rule contains a clear definition of a "round-trip" and defines all other trips as "one-way." It also clarifies which airports will collect PFC for multiple-airport trips.
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AirlinesPassengersAirportsCompetitionFeesTransportation costsTransportation ratesAviation safetyAviationPassenger facility charges