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[quote user="blue streak 1"] Just to muddy the waters further: 1. Article in last weeks WSJ that some in the House want to eliminate a $6.5B item for FY 2011 air traffic control grant to upgrade the air traffic system. This will be an amount that would be needed for each of the next ten years. Quite a subsidity. But is it necessary? IMHO yes! 2. For the state of Georgia essential air service subsidities were about $1.75M. I believe that is more per passenger than the subsidity for AMTRAK's Crescent and Silver trains per boarding Georgia passengers? More people certainly board AMTRAK every day in Georgia than board Barbie Jets! 3. Our local airport is trying for a federal grant of $2.5M for a runway extension that will never be paid for by airplane fuel since only about 12,000 gallons of all aviation fuels are pumped per month. Unfortunally I do not know the amount of fuel taxes per gallon but will try to find out.  [/quote] The projected cost for NextGen is approximately $22 billion.  The cost of the system will be recovered for the most part through user taxes.  NextGen is not just for the commercial airlines.  According to the FAA, approximately 30 to 35 per cent of the traffic it controls is commercial airline flights.  The bulk of operations are general aviation and military traffic.  The airline industry has presented data at Congressional hearings supporting the notion that it pays more than its fair share of the air traffic control system. The budget for The Essential Air Services Program was approximately $171 million in 2009.  This program was mandated in 1979 by Congress as part of commercial airline deregulation.  Although I have not worked up the numbers, I would be surprised if the cost per passenger mile is below Amtrak's cost per passenger mile.  Moreover, outside of a few remote areas in the west and Alaska, most of the airports served by the program are within an hour or so driving time from a major city with solid commercial air service. When you speak of the local airport, do you mean a major hub or a satellite field?  $2.5 million at Hartsfield would not even show up on the radar scope.  The FAA funnels monies for some airport improvements.  Of the nearly 13,000 airports in the county, fewer than 500 have any commercial air service.  Thus, most of the airport improvement monies go to airports with no commercial service.  They are capitalized.  Fuel taxes, gate fees, hangar fees, etc. supposedly cover the cost of these airports, including the federal grants, although not all of them generate sufficient revenues to cover the costs.  The federal fuel tax is 21.8 cents per gallon for non-commercial jet fuel, 19.4 cents for aviation gasoline, and 4.3 cents for commercial jet fuel.  It appears that the commercial airlines are getting a significant fuel tax break, but if one tallies up the amount of fuel a commercial jet airplane burns, the dollars contributed to the kitty is great.  In addition to the fuel taxes, the airlines pay the following taxes, which of course they collect from the flying public.  Like all corporations, they don't pay any taxes.  The taxes are paid by their customers:  Passenger ticket tax - 7.5%; Flight Segment Tax - $3.70 per passenger; Frequent Flyer Tax - 7.5%; International Departure Tax - $16.30 per passenger; International Arrival Tax - $16.30 per passenger; Cargo waybill tax - 6.25%; Passenger facility charge (local airports) - up to $4.50 per passenger; September 11th fee - $2.50 per passenger; Animal and Plant Inspection Fee - $5.00 per passenger or $70.50 per aircraft without passengers;  Custom's User Fee - $5.00 per passenger; Immigration User Fee - $7.00 per passenger.  Not all of these fees apply to every flight, of course, but they are ample evidence that airline passengers tote their share of the note. In addition to taxes, airports rely on gate fees, hangar fees, vendor rentals, parking lot fees, etc. to fund their operations.  According to my calculations for 2009; I have not worked up the 2010 numbers, the federal subsidy for airline passengers, excluding the Essential Air Services Program, is less than a penny a passenger mile.
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