United asks FAA to investigate fees at its Newark hub

United Airlines is challenging how billions of dollars in "unreasonable" fees from Newark Liberty International Airport are spent on projects outside the airport and on firefighting overtime, according to a complaint filed Wednesday with the Federal Aviation Administration. United is by far the busiest carrier at Newark, operating one of its biggest hubs at the New Jersey airport.

The 81-page complaint argues that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark, has diverted $2 billion since 2004 for projects with non-airport uses, including $181 million on the Pulaski Skyway this year.

Newark generates $160 million a year in surpluses, with funding repeatedly paying for highways, bridges, parks, hospitals and other facilities it doesn't operate, according to the complaint.

"In fact, however, the Port Authority operates (Newark) for its own benefit, contrary to the interests of the traveling public and the aeronautical users of the airport, imposing excessive, unreasonable and discriminatory charges to generate huge surpluses that are siphoned off to non-aeronautical operations," the complaint said.

Ron Marsico, spokesman for the Port Authority, said "United is paying fees to the Port Authority pursuant to a contract that the airline accepted."

The FAA has 20 days to open a formal docket on the case, when the Port Authority could respond or ask the agency to dismiss the case. The FAA's decision in the case could be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

United said Newark fees are "by far the highest in the nation," 75% higher than at fellow authority property John F. Kennedy International Airport and 59% higher than the next most expensive non-authority airport, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

United said its average landing fee at Newark is $11.77 per 1,000 pounds of weight., compared to $4.54 in Los Angeles and 82 cents in Atlanta. The airline said the fees are burdensome with 135,000 departures a year at Newark.

"Under federal law, the airfield fees paid by United must be related to recovering the costs of operating and maintaining the airfield and must be transparent and reasonable," the complaint said.

Another aspect off the complaint deals with the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting force, which United says threatens to raise its costs at Newark by $25 million a year. But police and firefighters get an average $242,000 in compensation, overtime and benefits, which the complaints says is "a sum considerably in excess of the market compensation for firefighters."

United is asking FAA to investigate the entire rate-making structure at Newark, the reasonableness of fees and the extent to which the port authority diverts fees to non-airport functions.