Lets not forget it is the big airlines own attempt to slam southwest that has bought on many of these taxes. Several years ago there were no segment fees--only a flat 10% federal tax. The big 3 went after Southwest in endorsing legislation to reduce the federal tax down to 7.5% and impose a segment tax. The thinking was Southwest would be at a disadvantage since most of their flights involve several stops/transfers.

Guess what happened? The federal tax was reduced down to 7.5%---did the airlines reduce there fares by 2.5%? --- nope. Did the overall cost of tickets go up due to the new segment tax?--- yes. Is southwest still making money? --- of course.

Seems like AA and Delta only need to look into a mirror as to whom is to blame for all of these taxes.