But I thought US airlines just wanted a free market without special favors bestowed by governments?

We know that the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York New Jersey, which controls United’s major hub Newark airport, got a non-stop flight to his weekend home — a flight with poor financial performance, that was eliminated as soon as he was out as Chairman.

United also is said to have run Atlantic City service as quid pro quo for the New Jersey governor’s support of public transit to Newark.

Port Authority commissioners got golf cart escorts from car to gate.

And the crazy thing is, they’re the competent ones who are being messed with in trying to move forward a new Central Terminal project at New York LaGuardia.

The stuff, though, just keeps getting worse.

The big story here is the operating lease for the observation deck at One World Trade Center awarded to Chris Christie friend and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

But federal prosecutors are also now looking at:

The authority also noted a letter it received from federal prosecutors asking it to preserve records about redevelopment of Terminals A and C at Newark, United’s lease for Terminal C, a proposed extension of the PATH train to the airport and United service to Atlantic City’s airport.