JumboBuc
Senior Member
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- Jun 26, 2013
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Why is the government writing these “little monopolies” checks and subsidizing their operations? Allow them to charge users more to cover their costs.Airports are effectively little monopolies—it’s why airline fortress hubs work at only 60% of an airport—the airport itself has anti-consumer market power
Unless there was active competition from Hanscom AND true High Speed Rail, I don’t see how uncapped fees at BOS would be traveler-friendly / utility maximizing
A debate can be had on whether the passenger facility charge should be totally uncapped or have its cap increased in steps. If you want to treat airports like regulated utilities (which are even cleaner examples of “natural monopolies”) then have a regulatory framework which includes regular reviews of rate setting to ensure revenues cover costs and allow for some profit without price gouging consumers with nowhere else to turn. But enforcing the same low price cap unadjusted for inflation for 20+ years and then complaining about poor conditions and spending government money to address them makes zero sense.
There absolutely are significant anti-competitive elements in the aviation industry (which is a topic for a whole ‘nother thread) and those should be taken on via a regulatory framework focused on increasing competition. Arbitrary price caps on random sensible and logical user fees is not that at all. Poor policy design and enforcement in one area (airline competition policy) should not be used as justification for poor policy design and enforcement in a totally different area (airport funding structures). Lots of very smart people devote their entire careers to studying the impacts of anti-competitive behavior in the aviation industry, and I’d bet that not one of them would say the issue is that the Federally-regulated passenger facility charge is too high.
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