All politics is local...
This must be true--the Deadman's throwaway post about the Wright amendment has generated a number of reader comments second only to the birth of Liam. The Deadman appreciates everyone's info and opinion (plus we just love to refer to ourselves in the third person).
posted by rattlerd | 12:30 PM
3 Comments:
I think the reason the Wright Amendment attracts such interest is that:
1) It has been so universally condemned by so many (as only one example, dozens of major city newspapers ranging from the New York Times to the Daily Oklahoman have editorialized for repeal this year alone);
2) It is in direct contradiction with the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978; and
3) The excessively high airfares which result from American Airlines' monopoly of the long-haul air market are an extreme drag on the North Texas economy.
I find this issue interesting because I've lived in cities with two airports, and I'm used to the smaller more urban one having flight restrictions. I'm not sure why people are so rabid about the Wright Amendment as opposed to restrictions in other two city airports.
To my knowledge, no other airport in the U.S. has the following restrictions:
1) Absolute prohibitions on through-ticketing/marketing to any destinations beyond the Wright Amendment perimeter.
2) Any perimeter restrictions, period, except in cases of sustained airport saturation (which does not exist at Love Field).
To my knowledge, most airport restrictions in urban areas relate to things like noise, hours of operation, etc.
The Wright Amendment is puzzling (actually not that puzzling... it's pure corporate welfare for American Airlines) in that the restrictions it imposes are totally unrelated to one of the things it "pretends" to do: improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents (of which I am one).
Consider that:
1) Southwest Airlines constitutes less than 1/3 of aircraft movements at Love Field;
2) Southwest Airlines' aircraft are significantly quieter than the corporate jets which operate out of Love Field; and
3) Flight destination, through-ticketing prohibitions, and marketing prohibitions have nothing to do with neighborhood quality of life.
Also, I find it interesting that the only neighborhood organization actively supporting the Wright Amendment, the Love Field Citizens Action Committee, was revealed by the Dallas Observer in 1997 to be secretly funded (at least in part) by American Airlines.
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