Wright Amendment

I am sure some of you have heard about the Wright Amendment, a piece of legislation from the late 1970's which restricts Southwest Airlines' operations from Dallas Love Field to the states that border Texas as well as Kansas, Mississippi, and two other states which elude me at the moment. As a result, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport-based American Airlines has been able to gouge customers in the DFW metroplex, some paying upwards of $1,000 for a walk-up ticket, one way, to Memphis, TN, less than 300 miles away. Southwest Airlines charges less than $100 for the same type of ticket from St. Louis, MO to Omaha, NE, two markets a comparable distance away.

Why is Southwest restricted at Love Field?

The amendment was introduced to protect a then developing Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which has since become the third busiest in the world. Love Field, on the other hand, is maxxed out at 32 gates; the amendment is kind of outdated.

The issue?

We (are supposed to live) in a free-market ecnonomy, and these types of measures are a bit, well, restrictive.

For more information, go here

I ask that everyone who supports the issue to go to the link on the website and write a letter to Congress. I have written the following one:

To whom it may concern:

Let me begin by stating, for the record, that I do NOT live in Dallas. I don't even live in Texas, or any of the states bordering Texas that Southwest is allowed to fly into from Love Field, for that matter.

I am not biased toward Southwest or American. I fly both on a frequest basis, having completed ten segments on American thus far this year and am about to fly eight on Southwest within the next seven weeks. Both have provided me with affordable advance-purchase fares--which is important, because I am a middle-class student--friendly service, and safe traveling.

That said, I think American is wrong here. They just are. No matter what anyone from that company says, their sole reason for backing the Wright Amedment is so that they can keep charging their ridiculous walk-up fares, unchallenged, and maintain (I say maintain because they actually posted a profit last quarter) some sort of profit. Which would be fine if high fares were the only way to achieve profit.

Southwest, of course, has proven that this is not the case. While American wants over $1,000 for the short hop for Dallas to Memphis, for example, Southwest customers can jump from St. Louis to Chicago, Kansas City, or Detroit for under $100, less than ten times the cost. Why?

Southwest has a better business model. American's is apparently in pretty bad shape.

Unfortunately, neither one is the concern or problem of the consumer. We did not make any of the business decisions that led either company to where it is right know. All we can do is continue flying both to ensure that they continue to operate.

The rest is all up to the workings of our FREE market economy, one which ensures fair competition. I ask that you support the continuity of that free market, my representative, and support the repeal of the Wright Amendment.