US Postal Service, airlines at odds over mail fees

United Airlines and other carriers were paid USD284 million to ship international mail last year, five times higher than actual costs, the Postal Service said in seeking to freeze the rates and negotiate lower fees.

Rates should be based on the market, without adding costs such as maintenance and salaries the government considers in setting fees, the service said in a Department of Transportation filing last month.

A fair rate would cut international mail costs to USD50 million, the filing said.

“There is certainly no basis to conclude, as does the Postal Service, that the carriers have been overpaid,” UAL Corp.’s United, which gets the most mail revenue among carriers, said in opposing a freeze. Four other airlines oppose a freeze.

Paul Takemoto, a Transportation Department spokesman, said the department will consider the Postal Service’s request. The agency said Dec. 31 it would set 2004 rates by Feb. 1.

“We’re always willing to sit down and hear what both sides have to say,” Takemoto said.