The Air Transport Association, which represents major carriers, also formally proposed lawmakers scrap the long-held formula of airline ticket and fuel taxes in favor of a system that would extract more money from business jet and other private operators to run the nation's aviation system.
Airlines estimate that moving away from airline taxes and fees would shift about $2 billion of annual costs elsewhere.
Airlines are the biggest consumer of air traffic services but carriers complain their contribution to a federal trust fund that covers much of Federal Aviation Administration budget far exceeds their actual use.
The trust fund law expires next year and regulators plan to offer financing alternatives for Congress to consider. Some mix of user fees is expected, but whether the government will drop its passenger and fuel tax system is unclear.
The trust fund is leaner now than in previous years mainly because revenues from airline taxes are off due to low fares and capacity cuts.
The FAA's proposed budget for 2007 is $13.7 billion, with trust fund receipts expected to fall short by $2 billion. Airlines contribute about $11 billion.
"I'm suggesting there be a proportional fee tied to the use of the system," Jim May, chief executive of the airline trade group Air Transport Association, told reporters.
Business jet operators, who pay a fraction of what the airlines contribute, say the system is designed for airline use and bristle at new funding proposals.
"User fees are costly and require a large bureaucracy to administer and are an administrative burden to companies," said Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association. "It's of no value."
While airlines have previously argued for lower taxes on their industry and have often criticized FAA management for being slow and inefficient on modernization, they have united around a plan to alter how Congress and regulators make decisions about aviation priorities.
"People who use the system ought to have some say in decisions of that system," May said. "I think they (FAA) certainly look to us for advice and counsel, but I don't thinks we have that kind of input now."
For instance, May said Congress should reevaluate earmarks for aviation programs. Earmarks or budget "pork" are a hallmark of Congress that assign automatic spending priority to initiatives requested by members. The process favors powerful members, including committee chairmen.
He also said airlines should have a prominent role in the development of air traffic modernization including equipment purchases, which are heavily influenced by large contractors.
And the airlines insist FAA lower costs by closing facilities that may not be needed but are operated mainly for political reasons -- much like underperforming trains are kept going at Amtrak at the insistence of members of Congress who control the rail network's annual subsidy.Yahoo! News
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