It looks like Northwest Airlines sparked some resonance with that
sensationalist rag USA Today:


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AOPA ePilot Volume 6, Issue 16 April 16, 2004
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AOPA DEFENDS GA AGAINST 'USA TODAY'S' CALL FOR USER FEES
AOPA on Thursday defended general aviation against a "USA Today"
editorial that claims airline passengers "subsidize" general aviation.
In an opposing view piece published alongside the paper's editorial,
AOPA President Phil Boyer explained to "USA Today" readers that the
current system is a single structure, designed for the airlines. See
AOPA Online (
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...04-2-025x.html )

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 15:41:33 GMT, Larry Dighera
wrote in Message-Id: :


It would be interesting to know how much funding R. W. Pool receives
from airline sources.


ATC USER FEES: AOPA, NORTHWEST BUTT HEADS
AOPA President Phil Boyer says his "productive meeting" with
Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson Friday led to the result
that the two "will agree to disagree" on the topic of user fees
for air traffic control services. Anderson claimed in an editorial
in Northwest's Inflight Magazine (reported earlier by AVweb) that
airlines are subsidizing general aviation through the fees they
pay for aviation services. Boyer said Anderson's remarks might
have been sparked by the lawsuit Northwest has launched against
the Metropolitan Airport Commission, which runs Minneapolis-St
Paul International (MSP) and six reliever airports. The commission
uses some of the revenue from MSP to cover costs at the other
airports. Northwest believes the money generated at MSP should
stay there. "I think the real issue (for Northwest) is a pretty
localized one," Boyer said. Meanwhile, USA Today guest opinion
writer Robert W. Poole Jr. says it's time the FAA started
charging for air traffic control services so it can keep up with
market demand.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#187026