Higher Fares at Hubs: Two Studies, Two Views
Passengers at some airports where one or two airlines provide the bulk of the service are paying significantly higher prices for travel. But two studies out this week-one by the government, another by the airline industry-give different perspectives on how often this happens and why.</br></br>The studies by the General Accounting Office and the Air Transport Association both tackle what has become one of the hottest issues in the debate over how airline deregulation is working-whether passengers who live near an airport dominated by one or two airlines are paying a price in higher fares. The ATA, which represents the airline industry, says no.</br></br>Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner considers competition at airline hubs a critical issue, and the Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing today to examine whether airlines that have staked out a huge presence at airports such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Pittsburgh and St. Louis have created what amounts to a captive market.</br></br>"While there continues to be vigorous competition on the most heavily traveled routes, growing concentration, especially at hub airports, has led to less competition on many routes," concluded the GAO in a study to be released at today's hearing.</br></br>The GAO study, requested by Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) of the Senate Commerce Committee's aviation subcommittee, found that passengers at 15 airports dominated by one or two carriers paid 27 percent more per passenger mile of travel than travelers at airports where more competition exists.