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Another Message From Colleen Peace Over North Texas

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My goodness, I didn't expect to be returning to the blogosphere so soon, but I wanted to share my thoughts with you about a truly historic occasion. Although our blog isn't our primary political forum, if you will, I want to bend the rules this time. On June 15, the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW Airport, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, participated in a historic and precedent-setting announcement to settle, by mutual agreement, the battle over the Wright Amendment. (This federal law, enacted in 1979, limits flights from Love Field to nine nearby states, and it also prohibits us from selling tickets from Love to points beyond those nine states. For more information go here) On behalf of the public, we stand shoulder to shoulder with American Airlines, DFW Airport, and with the Mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth, in urging the City Councils of Dallas and Fort Worth and the U.S. Congress to speedily approve the implementation of the agreement. The settlement, once implemented by Congress, contains two steps. The first step will immediately permit Customers to fly to/from Dallas in markets beyond those currently allowed under the Wright Amendment on direct (one- or two-stop) and connecting flights with a single ticket. The second stage comes in eight years when Wright's restriction is lifted on nonstop flights beyond the nine states. While each of the five parties to this agreement had to cede some longheld positions, the real winner will be the traveling public, as people will benefit from increased competition, greater choice of travel options, and lower air fares. Moreover, for the first time since 1968, when Dallas and Fort Worth agreed to build DFW, the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW Airport, and American Airlines, by this settlement agreement, formally acknowledge the right for Love Field to exist as an airport and for Southwest Airlines to serve Love Field. By trading uncertainty for certainty with this agreement, we can plan for the future; reinvest in Dallas Love Field, our hometown airport; and grow. Many of you reading this, whether you are a Customer, an Employee, or a supporter of competition, have been active in our Wright Fight. Without your tireless efforts, words of support, and your grassroots activities, we never would have been in a position to achieve this remarkable breakthrough, and I am very grateful to each of you. We aren't "there" yet because we still have to get the legislation through Congress, but we are closer than we have ever been, and I have every confidence that we will get there. Thank you for your interest; thank you for your support; and thank you for your patience as we work through what I hope will be the remaining few obstacles to bring peace to the infamous (Wright Amendment) War of 1979. Colleen
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