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Topic: Wright Amendment to be repealed

Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-18-2006 01:17 AM

I may never have to fly into DFW again. Yay!

quote:

Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006 Enacted Into Law
Southwest Airlines Offers Customers $99 One-Way Fares and Increased Travel Options From Dallas Love Field

North Texas Travelers Benefit From Increased Competition for Air Travel

DALLAS, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Since passage of the Wright Amendment in 1979, travelers into and out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area have paid higher airfares and had fewer travel choices, due to a law that restricted nonstop commercial air travel from Love Field to a small number of nearby states. After a tremendous effort that started in November 2004, a bill that repeals the Wright Amendment passed Congress by an overwhelming majority on Sept. 29, 2006, and has now been signed into law by President Bush.

"This is one of the most significant moments in Southwest Airlines history, and in the history of North Texas air travel," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Travelers have been burdened for nearly 30 years with the higher airfares the Wright Amendment nurtured by preventing competition. Over the past two years, the public has spoken out for change, and a plan was developed that brought together parties from both ends of the spectrum. The United States Congress passed the bill in an overwhelming fashion, and we applaud President Bush for expeditiously signing this bill so that we can begin to bring the Dallas/Fort Worth area into the 21st Century of low fare air travel."

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) will offer one-stop (same plane) and connecting service outside of the Wright Amendment's former restrictions. And in eight years, the Wright Amendment will be completely eliminated.

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 10-18-2006 03:18 AM

WTF is Daryl to tell ME WHY I care?

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Jason Burroughs
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Allen, TX
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-18-2006 12:46 PM

Adam,

Untill 2014 or something like that, you'll still have to stop in one of the current Wright states, however you will no longer be required to de-board, also a single ticket will work now, instead of seperate tickets.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-18-2006 01:39 PM

I heard about some other law signed into effect earlier this morning which may be an even more positive improvment. It restricts the levels of interest certain kinds of loan companies can charge military customers.

We have a bunch of these "quick cash loans" kinds of businesses here in Lawton preying off military people aboard Fort Sill and they are nothing more than perverse loan shark operations. The only difference between them and the mob is they don't send giant guys named Carmine and Vito to crush your legs with baseball bats when you don't pay on time.

Specifically, these operations charge people extreme levels of interest and use all sorts of creative accounting practices to make the interest compound to a more severe level. For example, if you took out a $1000 loan from them and took a couple years to pay off the loan you may pay $5000 for the total cost of that loan.

Lots of non-military people are being victimized by these businesses as well (typically those living in poverty and low wage "working poor" families). But this bill was signed to specifically protect military people. Lots of young servicemen with little credit history were getting put so far in debt by these companies that it prevented the Army from being able to deploy some soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 10-18-2006 02:32 PM

Finally after all these years.

The Wright Amendment was an example of Texas-style lawmaking at its worst (very similar to typical Nevada lawmaking BTW), bought and paid for by American Airlines and Braniff International, designed to hamstring the then upstart Southwest's attempts at establishing a hub for low-cost service at Love Field (DAL) in Dallas. AA and BN didn't want any competition with their established bases at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). Jim Wright was more than happy to take the money for this legislation, which originally restricted scheduled flights at DAL to only those that originated or terminated in states immediately adjoining the state of Texas.

Of course SWA went on to become air transportation's version of The Borg, assimilating markets and city pairs nationwide, despite attempts like the Wright Amendment to trip them up. In the mean time BN died and AA is now on the ropes, unable to successfully compete in the new world of air travel largely brought about by companies like SWA (and B6 and F9 and G4...).

The fight's not over yet for SWA at DAL though. Local politicians are moving to restrict the total number of gates and flights at DAL to present numbers, due to noise complaints and litigation. But at least now SWA can fly whereever their market analysis says they should from their base at DAL. All that's left to deal with is determining the amount of service.

One of the new routes is non-stop LAS-DAL for $99 USD. Now I can finally afford to drop in on Brad and see his screening room firsthand. Soon. [Smile]

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Jason Burroughs
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Allen, TX
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-18-2006 05:02 PM

The Wright Admendment wasn't originally created to hamstring Southwest, but to hamstring the airlines into moving to the D/FW airport which had just opened.

The party of primary interrest was the city of Fort Worth, which had seen its airport at virtually the same location fail, due to competition from Love Field, a severly landlocked airport.

30+ years is more than long enough for D/FW to establish itself, and for the cities to recoup their money invested in its construction (again primarily Fort Worth).

Ironically Fort Worth has enjoyed freight, and at times passenger flight from 2 airports within its limits, Meecham, and Alliance.

It seems that Fort Worth wants to have a monopoly on air traffic in the region, as it has protested the reduction of the Wright Ammendment, as well as other airports attempts invest in capability to handle similar traffic that Fort Worth enjoys.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-18-2006 10:12 PM

I don't understand why the city of Fort Worth is even allowed to exist. I thought Dallas was king of that land. Fort Worth obviously doesn't want to be the suburb that it deserves to be. There is no need for two major cities to be right next to each other, and I like the name "Dallas" better than the lame sounding "Fort Worth". "Fort Boring" is more like it. Therefore it is logical that Forth Worth should be destroyed... or at the very least assimilated.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 10-18-2006 11:05 PM

Lots of people just refer to that megapolis as "Dallas" or "The Metroplex." That "Dallas-Fort Worth" hypennate name is making less sense as time passes.

"The Bay Area" solved that whole metro naming problem for San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland a long time ago.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-19-2006 01:49 AM

We have a similar situation with Newcastle and Gateshead. Regional politics dictates that the latter has to be given equal status whenever that metropolitan area is referred to officially: but in reality, the only even remotely interesting thing about Gateshead involved Michael Caine and a multi-storey car park...

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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-19-2006 02:27 AM

quote: Jason Burroughs
Untill 2014 or something like that, you'll still have to stop in one of the current Wright states, however you will no longer be required to de-board, also a single ticket will work now, instead of seperate tickets.

Yeah, my previous flights to Love Field involved required tickets to Albuquerque first. No more jumping through bullshit hoops. I haven't been to Dallas in almost a year because of the choice of (a) Wright Amendment stupidity or (b) high cost on American to get there.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 10-19-2006 08:50 AM

'bout time. BTW: Southwest "bought" Purdue's certificate to start up. Louis

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