Wright Amendment Set to Fade Away

SURPRISE! After an inordinate amount of wrangling legislation to repeal the Wright Amendment has been approved by Congress and sent on to President Bush. Even last week it appeared this legislation was doomed due to a lot of unnecessary language aimed at insulating American Airlines and Southwest Airlines from anti-trust worries. That language was struck in favor of some much more vanilla statements in order to get the bill moving.
In an ending fitting of the whole process the Wright Amendment will not go out in a blaze of glory, no no no, that would be too simple. Instead, for the next 8 years flights to and from Dallas Love Field will still be restricted as follows:

...Southwest would immediately be able to sell through tickets for Dallas flights to and from any other cities it serves, as long as those flights stop at another Texas airport or airports in eight other states covered by the Wright law: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Missouri.

Asinine compromise in my opinion, what a bunch of monkey motion. But proof that big business swings a mighty big hammer at our capital. Sure, its smart business for American Airlines to try and delay anything that would benefit a competitor but how did Congress get talked into 8 years? Ah well what's done is done and hopefully President Bush will sign this quickly so that the countdown can begin.

Will Wright Ever be Right?

What started as a worthwhile effort to kill off a piece legislation that is no longer needed has turned into its own legislative nightmare. The bill introduced to kill off the Wright Amendment has itself become an abyss attempting to suck the whole effort down with it. The Dallas Morning News dropped an article on it today...its a good review and I don't feel the need to regurgitate it...too depressing.

Anyone with an ounce of logic can see the reasons that spawned the Wright Amendment have long since passed. Dallas/Fort Worth airport (DFW) needs protection from competition like a Navy Seal needs a body guard. Opening Love Field to more routes is good for business and the consumer. Note to Congress: Step back, take a deep breath and get this done. Get the wording right and make it work already. Too much time has been wasted with political jousting on this one.