Union Rep Says Dallas Flight Restrictions Unfair

By Chris Jones

By CHRIS JONES

GAMING WIRE

A union leader representing employees of Southern Nevada’s busiest airline said a 26-year-old federal law restricting flights to and from Dallas’ Love Field unfairly penalizes Southwest Airlines employees.

“We see this as a civil and labor rights issue. … The Wright Amendment should have gone away a long time ago,” Thom McDaniel, president of Transport Workers Union Local 556, said recently from Las Vegas, where he took part in the 775-attendee Transport Workers Union of America conference at the Rio.

McDaniel’s criticism was directed at a 1979 law that makes it illegal to fly or advertise flights from Love Field to points beyond the four states bordering Texas, as well as Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi.

Drafted by Rep. Jim Wright, D-Texas, the amendment ostensibly encourages airlines in the region to use Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, an American Airlines stronghold. Southwest prefers Love Field, which is closer to downtown Dallas and offers aircraft faster turnaround times because of reduced traffic loads.

Before the Sept. 11 attacks, Southwest chose not to challenge the Wright Amendment because the company made money on short-haul routes permissible under the law’s restrictions. As post-Sept. 11 security changes produced longer delays at airports, however, many consumers found it easier to drive between Dallas and nearby cities, severely damaging Southwest’s business at Love Field.

The airline hopes Congress will repeal the Wright Amendment to allow it to better compete in the Dallas market using long-haul flights. Southwest says it cannot move its operations to Dallas/ Fort Worth International because operating expenses and turnaround times would hurt its finances and on-time performance.

Reps. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, and Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, in May introduced the Right to Fly Act, which would immediately repeal the Wright Amendment. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is among those on Capitol Hill who support the proposed change.

Others, including Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., are leading a push to close Love Field to commercial air traffic.

An airline spokeswoman said Southwest would institute Las Vegas- Dallas service from Love Field if the Wright Amendment is overturned. Using historic models based upon Southwest’s past entries in new markets, the company estimated reduced fares would generate 83,009 new passengers per year on the route.

American contends Love Field is a Southwest monopoly. Repealing the Wright Amendment, Gerard Arpey, American’s chairman and chief executive officer said, would force American and other carriers to also shift flights to Love. Such a disruption to the hub system favored by American is “bad news for us, for DFW, and for the North Texas community that enjoys the robust international schedule that our hub makes possible,” Arpey said in a Sept. 15 written statement.

McDaniel’s union represents approximately 14,000 Southwest employees nationwide, and its membership includes workers from both American and Southwest.

Officially, the union has maintained a neutral stance. But as a Southwest employee, McDaniel believes the Wright Amendment hurts workers he represents by depriving them of job opportunities and depressing travel and tourism in North Texas.

Southwest’s flight operations began at Love Field in 1971. As the airline’s oldest station – an airport where flight crews begin or end shifts – the 500 or so flight attendants stationed there have more collective seniority than those at any of Southwest’s six other U.S. stations.

“Every other base has at least 1,000 workers,” he said. “It’s just too difficult to move about” from Love Field.

For example, a worker who resides in Dallas but is scheduled to work a flight between Las Vegas and Philadelphia would have to depart from Love Field to another airport in or adjacent to Texas. From there, they’d hop another flight to McCarran to officially begin their work day. A similar route would be used to return home after their workday ends.

However, a Houston-based worker assigned to the same Las Vegas- Philadelphia route, for example, could fly directly from Houston to Las Vegas to begin his or her shift. Several Southwest flight attendants this week said they’d rather live outside Dallas than add several hours to their workday commute.