Wright Amendment is a stupid piece of legislation. It should be repealed so the people of Dallas can fly from any airport they want....that's the free-market solution. -- Niraj Agarwalla -----Original Message----- From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David MR Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 3:30 PM To: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: article: One-stop flights: a Wright solution? NOT a solution! David R -------------- Original message --------------=20 From: Travel Pages <travelpages@xxxxxxxxx>=20 > http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-ticket_26bus. ART0.Sta=20 > te.Edition1.3f26316.html=20 >=20 > One-stop flights: a Wright solution?=20 > Neither American nor Southwest would love this compromise=20 >=20 > 12:00 AM CST on Sunday, March 26, 2006=20 > By ERIC TORBENSON and ROBERT DODGE / The Dallas Morning News=20 >=20 > Letting Southwest Airlines Co. fly passengers anywhere from Dallas Love Field=20 > on just one ticket - as long as they stop within a Wright amendment state -=20 > gives the carrier something it can't do today.=20 >=20 > But not nearly what it wants.=20 >=20 > "You are only giving people a slice of the pie, and they know there is more,"=20 > said Ron Ricks, Southwest's senior vice president for law, airports and public=20 > affairs.=20 >=20 > At the same time, offering through-ticketing rights to airlines serving Love=20 > hurts American Airlines Inc., which believes it bleeds money with any change to=20 > the federal Wright law.=20 >=20 > But the pain to American from through ticketing would be far less than that of=20 > full repeal.=20 >=20 > "Through ticketing is among the spectrum of options that lie between closing=20 > Love and opening it up completely," said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for Fort=20 > Worth-based American.=20 >=20 > Neither Southwest nor American is enthusiastic about solving the contentious=20 > fight over the limits on long-haul flights at Love by allowing through > ticketing. But as Dallas and Fort Worth attempt to hash out a Wright solution,=20 > the temptation exists to put it on the table.=20 >=20 > Talks are under way, with a June deadline for the mayors of the two cities to=20 > reach a local compromise on Wright, in an effort to forestall congressional=20 > action that could be unpalatable to North Texas.=20 >=20 > Even if the process arrives at full repeal, through ticketing could still=20 > emerge as an interim step.=20 >=20 > Some outside Texas have a keen interest in through ticketing becoming reality=20 > at Love.=20 >=20 > In Missouri, which was exempted from Wright limits in November, the state's=20 > major airports in St. Louis and Kansas City could easily serve as stopping=20 > points for North Texas fliers, boosting traffic.=20 >=20 > Under the 1979 Wright law, airlines are prohibited from offering or=20 > advertising flights between Love Field and any city beyond the perimeter, which=20 > now includes nine states: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico,=20 > Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri.=20 >=20 > As a result, passengers can't travel from Love Field to Phoenix or Los Angeles=20 > on a single ticket, even if they're willing to stop or change planes first in=20 > Albuquerque, N.M.=20 >=20 > Less than convenient=20 >=20 > For those willing to buy two tickets to make a long-haul trip from Love, fares=20 > end up being higher. And because schedules aren't set to accommodate through=20 > ticketing, transfers often aren't convenient.=20 >=20 > The restrictions used to apply to baggage, which had to get rechecked when the=20 > passenger changed planes. But after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, federal security=20 > rules were revised to allow bags to be checked through.=20 > While the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth negotiate a compromise on Wright,=20 > American and Southwest are sticking with their public positions.=20 >=20 > American wants Love Field to be closed, saying any shift of traffic there=20 > hurts its hub at the area's primary airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International.=20 > That, in turn, hurts the region's economy, the carrier says.=20 >=20 > Officials at the world's largest airline acknowledge, though, that through=20 > ticketing is among the available options and might play a key role in how the=20 > cities try to end the fight.=20 >=20 > Faced with a bevy of new one-stop Southwest flights from Love, American might=20 > be forced to offer competing service or otherwise alter its schedule and fares=20 > to go up against the Dallas-based discounter. That would cost American, but how=20 > much isn't known, Mr. Wagner said.=20 >=20 > Southwest wants unfettered access to its nationwide network from Love Field.=20 > So the carrier sees through ticketing as just a good start - not a solution.=20 >=20 > Southwest would like to see through-ticketing restrictions removed immediately=20 > in the first step of any plan to dismantle the Wright amendment.=20 >=20 > The lifting of through-ticketing restrictions would change how Southwest flies=20 > from Love.=20 >=20 > Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly has said the carrier would alter its=20 > schedule not only at Love but also at Albuquerque and other Wright airports to=20 > make connections easier for passengers.=20 >=20 > The carrier would build new connections to move North Texas passengers swiftly=20 > through Southwest's network to the East and West.=20 >=20 > Mr. Ricks, Southwest's chief lobbyist, said the airline would be willing to=20 > negotiate terms such as the rules of through ticketing, but it believes that the=20 > talks between the cities are about phasing out Wright, not closing Love.=20 >=20 > He said Southwest understands that the talks are focused on three major=20 > points: eliminating through-ticketing restrictions, allowing long-haul flights=20 > and dealing with capacity issues at Love Field.=20 >=20 > 'Willing to compromise'=20 >=20 > "We are willing to compromise," Mr. Ricks said. "Everybody who came to us said=20 > that if we would participate in good faith, the discussions would revolve around=20 > repeal of the Wright amendment."=20 >=20 > But the airline is adamant that through ticketing is not a final solution.=20 >=20 > "For the consumers who are driving this issue, if they picked up The Dallas=20 > Morning News and read that the only thing they are going to get out of this is=20 > one stop or more out of Love Field, they would feel like the political process=20 > had let them down," Mr. Ricks said.=20 >=20 > For consumers, one-stop tickets from Love Field would be cheaper than the=20 > current two-ticket option as well as competitive with nonstop flights from D/FW.=20 >=20 > Still, many airline experts doubt that through ticketing at Love would siphon=20 > many passengers - especially high-dollar business fliers - away from American's=20 > 800-flight-a-day D/FW hub.=20 >=20 > "It's not much more than a paper clips and baling wire solution," said Robert=20 > W. Mann, an airline consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. "It gives Southwest very=20 > little because what they really want is to be able to fly nonstop traffic."=20 >=20 > It's unclear how much airfares might change with through ticketing.=20 > Southwest's highest fares are now $309 each way, far lower in most cases than=20 > American's top domestic fare, which can approach $800 each way.=20 >=20 > American's Mr. Wagner said his airline competes against a considerable amount=20 > of one-stop traffic from D/FW.=20 >=20 > "If our nonstop fares aren't competitive with the one-stop fares we face, we=20 > lose traffic," he said.=20 >=20 > An unknown number of fliers are already flying from the region using two=20 > tickets on Southwest flights, he said, instead of on American's nonstops from=20 > D/FW.=20 >=20 > American's other concern is that allowing through ticketing probably wouldn't=20 > end the battle over Wright but could fan the flames for further loosening of the=20 > law.=20 >=20 > Yet some observers say American should just accept that Love isn't closing and=20 > do everything possible to hem in Southwest's growth. American can also charge=20 > more for nonstop service from D/FW.=20 >=20 > "American doesn't need Southwest flying against them at D/FW. Love Field is=20 > the inferior airport," said Michael Boyd of the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.=20 > "It's just lunacy what American is doing."=20 >=20 > Connecting cities=20 >=20 > Some of the biggest beneficiaries of through ticketing may be outside North=20 > Texas.=20 >=20 > Missouri was added to the Wright perimeter after the state's Republican=20 > senator, Christopher "Kit" Bond, pushed through a provision exempting the state=20 > from the flight restrictions at Love.=20 >=20 > Less than two weeks after President Bush signed the legislation into law,=20 > Southwest launched service from Love to St. Louis and Kansas City. American=20 > launched competing service from Love earlier this month.=20 >=20 > With through ticketing, Southwest's growing schedule at St. Louis could=20 > provide connections for eastbound Love passengers to cities such as Baltimore=20 > and Detroit.=20 >=20 > At Kansas City's airport, westbound passengers could connect to cities such as=20 > Seattle or Oakland.=20 >=20 > When asked if through ticketing might work better for his state than full=20 > Wright repeal, Mr. Bond smiled and said: "There is always that possibility."=20 >=20 > Through ticketing could also benefit the airport in Nashville, another > fast-growing city for Southwest, if Tennessee were tacked onto the Wright=20 > perimeter. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., tried unsuccessfully to=20 > add the state last year.=20 >=20 > For now, Mr. Bond said he is waiting to see what the talks between the two=20 > mayors produce. "We are watching to see how the various parties work it out," he=20 > said.=20 >=20 > North Texas' delegation has decided to let the cities attempt to settle the=20 > issue, but through ticketing is still top of mind.=20 >=20 > "I think through ticketing is certainly one of the ways to ease the tension on=20 > the Wright amendment, but that has to be coupled with other limitations at Love=20 > Field that level the playing field," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.=20 >=20 > "This has to be a local solution that makes the most sense for people in North=20 > Texas," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who indicated that he expected through=20 > ticketing to be part of a larger plan and not the final word.=20 >=20 > "It certainly would be more than just that one issue that would be involved,"=20 > he said. "It would have to be a comprehensive solution."=20 >=20 > Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, co-sponsor of a bill to repeal the law, said=20 > through ticketing could be part of a longer phase-out.=20 >=20 > "If somebody wants to bring another plan with another timetable, and if=20 > through-ticketing is part of that solution, I would have to take a look," Mr.=20 > Hensarling said. "I just do not believe it is a permanent solution because you=20 > would still have Congress picking winners and losers among airports."=20 >=20 > Eric Torbenson reported from Dallas and Robert Dodge reported from Washington.=20 > Staff writer Todd J. Gillman in Washington contributed to this report. >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 > ---------------------------------=20 > Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.=20