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OK expected on Dallas airport bill(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 3--The sky is open for competition from two airlines that have been battling for decades. Congress recently approved legislation to repeal the Wright Amendment, a 27-year-old law that limited traffic from Dallas' Love Field Airport. The Wright Amendment prohibited Dallas-based Southwest Airlines from flying outside a nine-state region. Southwest said the law prevented the company from developing other markets. Story continues below advertisement A compromise bill is expected to be signed this week by President Bush. The law will repeal Wright in 2014 and allow Southwest to provide nonstop flights from Love Field to the rest of the country, opening the doors of competition. "Logic will tell you that other airlines will lower their fares in order to compete with us," Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandy King said. Although the repeal would not take effect for another eight years, in the meantime Southwest will be allowed to sell through-tickets to travelers, who will no longer have to buy two separate tickets and recheck their baggage when they land in one of the nine states in the Wright perimeter. "They only touch their bags once," King said. "Passengers can purchase just one ticket now -- we've been waiting a long time to say that." American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the compromise bill is a good end to a law that has been a spot of contention for years. "There's a road map now," Wagner said. "Everybody knows what's going to happen." Although the Wright repeal will allow consumers to choose between Southwest and American when flying out of Dallas, Wagner said American Airlines does not see the repeal as a competitive issue but as a convenience issue for travelers. "Two infrastructures can grow and serve the community," Wagner said of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and Love Field. Increased service to the Dallas community may have a negative trickle-down effect on Oklahoma airports. An American Airlines study released last year labeled Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport as an at risk facility if the Wright Amendment were repealed. American Airlines feared it would have to cut flights at smaller airports to keep up with demand in the Dallas market. "That's a devastating blow to a community to lose air service," said Barbara McNally, Lawton airport manager. American Airlines is Lawton's only carrier. McNally said the Wright repeal does not allow for more competition in the skies, but pits airport against airport. "Competing airlines is one thing, I'm all for competition," McNally said. "But competing airports is another thing." Wagner said American Airlines has not determined what changes, if any, it will make to its existing services. Karen Carney, spokeswoman for Will Rogers World Airport, said Dallas is a good market for both Southwest and American, but she is confidant that the airlines are not going to just abandon a profitable service such as Oklahoma City. "We believe that if the market is there, the airline is going to service it," Carney said. "And if one airline chooses to step down, another will step in." Copyright (c) 2006, The Daily Oklahoman Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |