Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Kill the "wrong" Wright Amendment

There can be NO creedence put into the study commissioned by DFW Airport in support of keeping its own fanny out of the fire.
The Wright Amendment is one of the most anti-consumer, anti-capitalistic, anti-free enterprise pieces of legislation EVER enacted. Both political parties are equally guilty for passage and then unwavering, blind support. NO free-thinking conservative can justify this kind of stranglehold regulation while preaching about the virtues of solving problems through the "marketplace." It's laughable.
Remember the fiasco at Love Field, known as Legend Airlines and what sleazy steps were taken by American Airlines to insure of that business' demise. Once Legend announced its startup, AA then demanded (and received) gates at Love. Why would it, you might ask, when AA dominated its OWN hub?
It did everything to undercut and erase Legend from the scene (which skirted the Wright amendment by flying fewer passengers than the law's restriction and won that case in court). The MOMENT Legend disappeared, AA slithered back to DFW and closed its gates at Love.
So all this talk about protecting a vital economic engine in North Texas are just wasted words to protect a business which has been sorely mismanaged for years. The law was passed to protect one business (American) and help one man (Robert Crandall).
Funny, Southwest makes money while AA leaks like the Titanic after going for a little ice. If there is truly to be open competition in American business, then Wright must go. Perhaps that is the best move for all involved (consumer, worker, etc.) in order to force American to clean up its own mess through poor management and even worse passenger service.
Give Dallas and Fort Worth passengers the same equal access to service as every other city in this nation. It is a position each person should stand tall behind.

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