Ed Board is heartened to see that a senator from Nevada has taken the first step in what should be the end of the Wright Amendment.
Yesterday’s edition of The Dallas Morning News reported that Republican Sen. John Ensign would introduce legislation that would remove flight restrictions from Dallas Love Field.
For those who are fuzzy on Dallas area aviation, the Wright Amendment was passed in 1979 and limited flights out of Love to Texas and its surrounding states. The legislation was intended to protect newly opened Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from competition and ensure its success.
I think we can all say that D/FW is a success and does not need the protection of the Wright Amendment anymore.
Senators actually began chipping away at the amendment in the late 1990s when Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby added the states of Mississippi, Kansas and Alabama to the approved flight list.
The issue died down until late last year, when Southwest Airlines announced they wanted long-haul flights out of Love, shedding their long held neutral position on the amendment.
Not surprisingly, American Airlines and D/FW Airport have been fighting ever since to ensure that Wright remains.
And that should make area residents mad.
American uses Wright to inflate ticket prices out of D/FW because they have no competition at the airport. They pad their pockets at the expense of the flying public.
If Southwest were allowed to fly a national schedule, then the price of tickets at Love and D/FW would significantly decrease.
Don’t believe airport official’s arguments that such a change would threaten D/FW’s financial stability. A brand new international terminal is set to open soon in addition to the completion of multi-million dollar renovations throughout the airport. If D/FW cannot attract new airlines with all the perks it brings to the table, it’s their own fault – not Southwest’s.
From an SMU perspective, it would be so much more convenient to drive 15 minutes down Mockingbird to fly anywhere in the U.S. rather than driving an hour to D/FW. How many of us have gotten lost on the many ramps and turns that have to be made to get to the terminal?
Kudos to Southwest for what looks like a very effective lobbying campaign so far.
Unfortunately, both of Texas’ senators are against changing Wright and the house delegation is split. If the flying public wants change, these people need to be for eliminating Wright.
Write your congressman and try to get them on board.
