Q&A: What might have led to the ouster of United's CEO

Allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie allegedly closed an access point to the George Washington Bridge as retribution against a local mayor who wouldn't support the governor's re-election campaign.

A federal investigation of the affair known as "Bridgegate" eventually pointed to the Port Authority's chairman, David Samson, a Christie appointee.

On Tuesday, it announced — without providing any details — that as a result of that investigation, CEO Jeff Smisek and two government relations executives were leaving the airline.

First was a new maintenance hangar for its jets.

At the end of last year, it filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration accusing the Port Authority of "exorbitant and unreasonable rates" at Newark.

United said landing fees at Newark are $11.77 per 1,000 pounds of aircraft weight, compared to $7.42 at Chicago O'Hare, $4.50 in San Francisco, $3.52 in Philadelphia and 82 cents in Atlanta.

United wants the agency to expand the PATH by almost two additional miles so that the lawyers and bankers working in lower Manhattan — the same folks who buy expensive last-minute tickets — would have a direct and quick route to the airport.

There used to be a nonstop flight to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, about 50 miles from the vacation home, but it was canceled.

Smisek said two flights — on tiny 50-seat jets — would help drive economic development in the region.

If charges are brought against Samson, Smisek or others, they would be likely to fall under a federal statute governing theft of honest services, a broad law used frequently in corruption cases, said Bradley Simon, a white-collar defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.

In polling both nationally and in New Hampshire, the early-voting state where Christie is focusing most of his efforts, his support has slid into the low single digits.