Originally Posted by
ksweeney
This is completely different from the case you describe.
There are already two airlines serving COU without subsidies. The local government "stepping in for their people" will cause their people to have no airline service at the end of the year. In this case the local government is tampering with free markets that were working fine without taxpayer dollars.
Sorry. I didn't fill in all the details. It's not
completely different as you say, because the airport exists and United Express flies there without subsidies (the airport does not just exist with no one flying there). Horizon also used to operate without subsidies, but they found the routes too unprofitable. ACV wanted to bring in American Eagle to provide more routes. I don't know if United complained like DL, so there could be a difference there, but I just wanted to point out that it's not atypical for subsidies to be handed out by regional areas to get more carrier action.
As for free-market... well, I'll let others chime in on who decides the rules on "free" markets.