If you are keeping score of political brinkmanship in Washington over FAA funding—which appears to have simultaneous games being played at different levels—it can be hard to determine who is winning and who is losing. Or, perhaps more accurately, it is hard to tell who is losing the most. The game started as U.S. airports versus airlines, although they are oddly aiming at the same goal—an efficient and modern national airspace system— from two different sides of the field. Airports want the most Airport Improvement Program grant money they can get, and want to raise the amount of the passenger facility charge (PFC) airlines collect for them. (Airlines actually make a small profit from the PFC.) The two have moved beyond these disagreements to a public fight over Airport and Airway Trust Fund dollars.
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