Editorial
12/20/04 (missed this one)
Wright and wrong
Excerpts:
- We are delighted to learn that a small but growing number of industry parties want to place the Wright Amendment on the Congressional agenda next year. Southwest Airlines, a prime beneficiary of the law, has said it plans to advocate its repeal. ASTA has said it supports that effort. So do we.
- For those who have forgotten the sordid history of Dallas and its airports, the Wright Amendment was designed 25 years ago to help the fledgling Dallas-Fort Worth Airport by restricting airline service at Dallas Love Field to service within Texas and four (now seven) surrounding states, with no interline or online connecting service beyond that perimeter. That’s why you can’t get from DAL to New Orleans with a connection to Orlando unless you buy two separate tickets.
- The need to “protect” DFW from the conveniently located DAL has long since dissipated, if it ever existed to begin with. We’ve never liked this law. It was wrong in 1979, and it’s wrong now. We hope Congress finally comes around and liberates Texas from this artificial restraint on competition.