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May 16, 07, 8:37 am
Excerpts from http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7529462.html?showAll=y&c=y
The managers of Los Angeles International Airport disregarded both fairness and the law when they sharply increased the fees they charge airlines, a judge ruled Tuesday in a decision that could lower some ticket prices.
Administrative Law Judge Richard Goodwin called out glaring errors in the airport's financial records and apparent misstatements by some of its top officials. He questioned whether the higher fees were meant to drive flights away from LAX and toward smaller, suburban airports -- a goal, he added, that may violate federal policy.
The higher fees at the center of this dispute prompted several airlines in recent weeks to raise the price of a ticket out of LAX by up to $10. Airlines reached Tuesday said they would wait for the final ruling, due next month, before deciding whether to roll back those fare increases.
...Other carriers locked in their rates years ago with long-term leases.
And that, Goodwin concluded, is discrimination. It creates two classes of airlines -- those paying the long-term lease rate, and those paying a much higher short-term rate -- even though they operate side-by-side.
The Department of Transportation is scheduled to release its final ruling on June 15. A separate federal lawsuit filed by three of the biggest airlines at LAX -- United, American and Continental -- is also pending.
The managers of Los Angeles International Airport disregarded both fairness and the law when they sharply increased the fees they charge airlines, a judge ruled Tuesday in a decision that could lower some ticket prices.
Administrative Law Judge Richard Goodwin called out glaring errors in the airport's financial records and apparent misstatements by some of its top officials. He questioned whether the higher fees were meant to drive flights away from LAX and toward smaller, suburban airports -- a goal, he added, that may violate federal policy.
The higher fees at the center of this dispute prompted several airlines in recent weeks to raise the price of a ticket out of LAX by up to $10. Airlines reached Tuesday said they would wait for the final ruling, due next month, before deciding whether to roll back those fare increases.
...Other carriers locked in their rates years ago with long-term leases.
And that, Goodwin concluded, is discrimination. It creates two classes of airlines -- those paying the long-term lease rate, and those paying a much higher short-term rate -- even though they operate side-by-side.
The Department of Transportation is scheduled to release its final ruling on June 15. A separate federal lawsuit filed by three of the biggest airlines at LAX -- United, American and Continental -- is also pending.