Airport Tax improve Could Be Suspended, Says OSK

"While we do not know what the discourses centered on, negotiations on passenger service charges may have been on the agenda.
Hence, there is a high probability that the rate hike could be suspended," said OSK in its research report Friday.

It was reported that MAHB would raise the airport tax on international passengers by RM14 to RM65 for all airports. For the low cost terminal, tax on international passengers will be raised by RM7 to RM32.

However, even if the higher airport tax for international passengers from KLIA and Kota Kinabalu's terminal is implemented, the move will have no upside impact on revenue and earnings for MAHB.

This is as the advised RM14 increase to be collected from passengers under the new rates, is currently being subsidised by the government.

Hence, once the tax hike gets, MAHB will be collecting directly from the passengers.

However, the higher tax on international passengers departing from the low cost terminal and Kota Kinabalu airport could potentially lift profit by RM43 million to RM45 million per annum, or 11.3 percent in 2012 financial year.

This is assumptive that there will be no income sharing with the government.

OSK also said that although the quantum of raise is rather substantial at 27 per cent and 28 per cent for the international low cost terminal and non-low cost terminal passengers, it would not substantially cramp passenger growth.

Furthermore, Malaysia's airport taxes are considered comparatively lower than those charged by airports in Thailand and Indonesia, which are seeing strong development in air travel despite their lower per capita income.

U.S airlines roll back fares to pre-shutdown level

U.S. airline ticket counter

U.S. airlines have began rolling back last month's fare increases, so passengers are likely to pay the same prices still though federal ticket taxes are being gathered again.

US Airways aforesaid it reduced fares late Monday, joining Southwest, AirTran, Delta, American, JetBlue, United, Continental and Frontier.

If that goes on consumers will pay the same total cost instead of seeing additions of around 10 percent on many tickets for travel within the U.S.

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways officials said they had lowered fares on some paths likely those where they contend with Southwest. Representatives for other airlines did not directly comment.

Most U.S. airlines raised fares last month after a draw between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) caused federal excise taxes on tickets to expire. In effect, the airlines caught the money that previously went to the government alternatively of passing the tax break to consumers.

Last week Congress revitalized the taxes through Sept. 16. The challenge forced the FAA to furlough 4,000 employees and stop work on airport projects that employed thousands of construction workers.

ticket-counter

Bad news for workers was good news for the airlines. By raising fares to offset the expired taxes, airlines were able to pocket an approximated $400 million in just two weeks.

Travel experts had anticipated that airlines would be forced to give up the fare hikes once the taxes were restored. They said travel demand is already slowing, and many consumers would balk at paying higher fares on top of taxes.

FAA Stops More than 250 Airport Projects in US Due to Congressional Inaction

Federal Aviation Administration

The partial closedown of the Federal Aviation Administration has guided to stop-work orders on 258 airport construction projects all over the country, including several in Colorado, according to an FAA database.

Projects on the stop-work list include a $250,000 contract for Burton Construction at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center involving a piping upgrade.

About 24,000 construction workers in an industry already hit hard by the recession have lost work or their jobs due to the projects suspension, says Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group says the construction industry's unemployment rate was 16% in June when jobs totaled 5.5 million — 2.2 million less than the industry's all-time high in April 2006.


Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters

Some of these projects include:

Runway Status Lights: Over $250 million in contracts to design and install runway status lights at airports around the nation. These runway and taxiway lights help pilots know when it is safe to enter, cross or take off on a runway.

Air traffic tower earthquake protection: Nearly $20 million in construction and engineering contracts to make stronger air traffic towers in earthquake prone areas.

Weather Research: Over $14 million in projects to research NextGen weather technology systems for air traffic facilities and for aircraft cockpits.

The lights are slated for installation at the following airports:

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

New York LaGuardia Airport

Los Angeles International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Washington-Dulles International Airport

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport

The halt of aviation development projects also threatens 46,000 other jobs in businesses related to construction and jeopardizes to cost the government more than $1 billion in revenue from uncollected airline ticket taxes if Congress doesn't solve the problem until lawmakers return to Washington in September.

US President Barack Obama in sad

President Barack Obama urged Congress to extend the FAA's operating authority. The standoff involves House Republicans efforts to change an airline labor rule to make it more difficult for employees to unionize and proposed cuts of $16.5 million in airline service subsidies to rural communities. Senate Democrats oppose both.

According to USA TODAY's analysis of stop-work orders issued by the FAA after Congress didn't re-authorize the agency July 23, 234 development and modernization projects have been halted, and 24 other projects have been partially stopped.

Aviation consultant Michael Boyd

Aviation consultant Michael Boyd says the work stoppages could result in additional costs for the federal government.

"It's expensive to stop construction, and it can be expensive to re-schedule contractors, suppliers and sub-contractors," Boyd says.

The Air Transport Association of America, which represents U.S. airlines, says there's "an urgent need" for a long-term FAA re-authorization.

"The absence of re-authorization creates uncertainty for all sectors of the aviation industry," says Steve Lott, the group's spokesman.

The 10 Biggest FAA projects affected by the FAA funding dispute in Congress:

Contractor
Purpose
Value
Lockheed Martin*
Replacement of air traffic controller displays
$3.5 billion
ITT*
Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system
$1.4 billion
General Dynamics*
Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system
$1.2 billion
Metron Aviation*
Systems engineering contracts for NextGen air traffic control system
$1.1 billion
Lockheed Martin*
Continuation of computers in 20 air traffic control centers until replacement system is fully operational
$619 million
Sensis Corp*
Airport surface radar safety system to help prevent runway collisions
$390 million
TASC*
Support services for NextGen transition
$384 million
Jacobs Engineering
Architecture and engineering for High Altitude Air Traffic Control Centers
$370 million
Sensis Corp*
Runway lighting systems that help prevent collisions
$214 million
SAIC
Support contract for airport surface radar system
$104 million
* = Project partially stopped

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