New York Times Claims Airline Passengers Are Subsidizing Private Jet Travel. But There’s More to the Story

The New York Times says that regular, everyday flyers who pay the 7.5% U.S. Transportation Tax as part of their airline tickets are subsidizing the maintenance and operation of the national air transport systems, which private jets are getting a virtually free ride on.

I t’s come up again.

Every few years, someone does the math on how many private jets are traveling in U.S. airspace, then compares it with the amount of taxes private jet users pay into the system. This time, it’s the New York Times Editorial Board , which points out that private jet users account for less than 1% of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) tax revenues, but account for 7% of the traffic in U.S. airspace.

The New York Times states that this means regular, everyday flyers who pay the 7.