{West Virginia}...Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and five Senate colleagues wrote to eight airlines Friday, asking them to reduce airfares and pass cost savings on to customers from temporarily expired taxes that normally go to the Federal Aviation Administration. Those taxes, which customers paid when buying tickets, stopped going to the FAA on July 23rd, after the House refused to pass a temporary reauthorization act to keep the agency funded. The taxes are used to fund airport repairs and safety upgrades. Most airlines have been keeping those taxes themselves. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood estimates private airlines will pocket up to $200 million by keeping those taxes.
