US Airways 2007 Annual Report Download - page 11

Table of Contents
may be altered, amended, modified or suspended by the DOT if the public convenience and necessity so require, or may be revoked for
failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the certificates. As of September 26, 2007, US Airways and AWA are operating under
a single certificate of public convenience and necessity in the name of US Airways.
Airlines are also regulated by the FAA, primarily in the areas of flight operations, maintenance, ground facilities and other
operational and safety areas. Pursuant to these regulations, our airline subsidiaries have FAA-approved maintenance programs for each
type of aircraft they operate. The programs provide for the ongoing maintenance of such aircraft, ranging from periodic routine
inspections to major overhauls. From time to time, the FAA issues airworthiness directives and other regulations affecting our airline
subsidiaries or one or more of the aircraft types they operate. In recent years, for example, the FAA has issued or proposed mandates
relating to, among other things, enhanced ground proximity warning systems, fuselage pressure bulkhead reinforcement, fuselage lap
joint inspection rework, increased inspections and maintenance procedures to be conducted on certain aircraft, increased cockpit security,
fuel tank flammability reductions and domestic reduced vertical separation. Regulations of this sort tend to enhance safety and increase
operating costs.
The DOT allows local airport authorities to implement procedures designed to abate special noise problems, provided such
procedures do not unreasonably interfere with interstate or foreign commerce or the national transportation system. Certain locales,
including Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco, among others, have established airport restrictions to limit
noise, including restrictions on aircraft types to be used and limits on the number of hourly or daily operations or the time of these
operations. In some instances these restrictions have caused curtailments in services or increases in operating costs, and these restrictions
could limit the ability of our airline subsidiaries to expand their operations at the affected airports. Authorities at other airports may
consider adopting similar noise regulations.
The airline industry is also subject to increasingly stringent federal, state and local laws aimed at protecting the environment. Future
regulatory developments and actions could affect operations and increase operating costs for the airline industry, including our airline
subsidiaries.
Our airline subsidiaries are obligated to collect a federal excise tax, commonly referred to as the "ticket tax," on domestic and
international air transportation. Our airline subsidiaries collect the ticket tax, along with certain other U.S. and foreign taxes and user fees
on air transportation, and pass along the collected amounts to the appropriate governmental agencies. Although these taxes are not
operating expenses of the Company, they represent an additional cost to our customers. There are a number of efforts in Congress to raise
different portions of the various taxes imposed on airlines and their passengers.
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (the "Aviation Security Act") was enacted in November 2001. Under the Aviation
Security Act, substantially all aspects of civil aviation security screening were federalized, and a new Transportation Security
Administration (the "TSA") under the DOT was created. TSA was then transferred to the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to
the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Aviation Security Act, among other matters, mandates improved flight deck security; carriage at
no charge of federal air marshals; enhanced security screening of passengers, baggage, cargo, mail, employees and vendors; enhanced
security training; fingerprint-based background checks of all employees and vendor employees with access to secure areas of airports
pursuant to regulations issued in connection with the Aviation Security Act; and the provision of passenger data to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
Funding for TSA is provided by a combination of air-carrier fees, passenger fees and taxpayer monies. The air-carrier fee, or
Aviation Security Infrastructure Fee ("ASIF"), has an annual cap equivalent to the amount that an individual air carrier paid in calendar
year 2000 for the screening of passengers and property. TSA may lift this cap at any time and set a new higher fee for air carriers. In
2005, TSA assessed additional ASIF liability on 43 air carriers, including US Airways, Piedmont, PSA and non-owned affiliates for
whom US Airways pay ASIF. The passenger fee, which is collected by air carriers from their passengers, is currently set at $2.50 per
flight segment but not more than $10.00 per round trip.
In 2007, we incurred expenses of $52 million for the ASIF, including amounts paid by US Airways Group's wholly owned regional
subsidiaries and amounts attributable to regional carriers. Implementation of the
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