Hard landing at LA Int'l airport for airlines as fees hiked 15 per cent
29 Jul 2008
Los Angeles, USA: Embattled airlines will have to brace for a harder landing at Los Angeles International Airport, which has decided to hike landing charges by 15 per cent in order to offset decreasing revenues as airlines cut back on the number of flights they operate in a slow growth-high cost environment.
The fee hike, which will take place with retrospective effect from 1 July, comes as airlines collectively drop thousands of weekly flights to and from at LA Int'l.
The LA Board of Airport Commissioners increased landing fees from $3.35 to $3.85 for every 1,000 pounds of aircraft weight. In simple language, this means that it will now cost $2,194 to land a Boeing 747-400 jetliner at LA Int'l as opposed to the current rate of $1,909.
With the hike in place, LA Int'l is expected to collect $185 million in landing fees this year.
Going by current announcements, the airport is expected to see a 16.7 per cent reduction of flights by November of this year.
