Southwest Airlines and Campbell-Hill Introduce Study on Consumer Benefits
Campbell-Hill study illustrates the consumer penalty imposed by the Wright Amendment.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) June 7, 2005 -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) today
released results of a three-month study by an outside commercial aviation
consulting firm that said the gain to local economies should the Wright
Amendment be repealed would be at least $4.2 billion annually. To view the
entire study, please click on this link: http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/050607_wright_amendment.pdf
Using a list of 15 potential new nonstop markets from Love Field, the
study found that:
-- North Texas would reap an additional $1.7 billion in
economic activity annually due to increased air travel to the region.
-- 3.7
million more passengers would travel in the 15 markets annually due to new
competition and lower fares.
-- Passengers would save nearly $700 million
annually compared to airfares charged by American Airlines at DFW
International.
-- The total Wright Amendment burden on passengers, North
Texas, and cities beyond the seven-state perimeter exceeds $4 billion per year.
Southwest hired Campbell-Hill Aviation Group to demonstrate the
"Southwest Effect" in real numbers. Campbell-Hill used data readily available to
the public, such as passenger traffic figures from the Department of
Transportation (DOT) and current air service as published in the Official
Airline Guide (OAG). The Washington, D.C. consulting firm has done work for the
DOT and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in addition to working with such
airports as Baltimore/Washington International, DFW International, the Houston
Airport System, and Pittsburgh International.
"There have been many attempts to confuse or scare the consumer into
thinking that the best course of action is to do nothing about the Wright
Amendment. This issue is about the fares and the cost of doing nothing is just
too great," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's CEO, at today's press
conference.
Southwest said it wished to answer a
question that had not been addressed in the seven months the Wright Amendment
has been making headlines. Communities all over its 60-city network report
record traffic figures and airfare savings for consumers, but in the 26-year
reign of the Wright Amendment over the Dallas area, a comprehensive look at the
positive economic impact to be gained from repealing the Wright Amendment had
not been done.
"Unlike others, this story can
have a happy ending," Kelly said. "It's about unrealized potential; money that
could be going to area businesses; money that travelers to and from the Dallas
area could be saving on airfares; and how much the entire region stands to gain
in additional tourism, convention, and business travel-related
dollars."
The Campbell-Hill study considered
what destinations from Dallas could look like by studying Southwest's operations
in similar markets. Eighty-five percent of the U.S. population lives outside the
restricted seven-state Wright Amendment zone. The study assumed Southwest could
add 15 new nonstop destinations from Dallas, not currently allowed by the Wright
Amendment. Using Southwest's average fares to markets on a like-mile basis, C-H
determined consumers would have saved $397 million in airfares from the
Metroplex area alone in 2004, just in those 15
markets.
"We must never forget that it is the
consumer who is penalized by the status quo and who must be set free. It is the
consumer who pays the greatest price to maintain corporate bottom lines and
ancient history," said Herb Kelleher, Southwest's Executive Chairman, also
onhand for the Dallas press conference.
Southwest is well known for expanding markets due to its lower airfares and
frequent service. Through a price elasticity model validated by the FAA, C-H
determined that just these 15 new destinations from Love Field would produce 3.7
million more passengers to those markets to and from the Dallas
area.
Increased air travel also generates
enormous positive impact on the economies of the cities and regions involved.
Philadelphia recently credited Southwest for saving citizens there about $1.2
billion on an annual basis in Southwest's first year of service in that city.
C-H determined that the economic impact of allowing competitive service from
Love Field in just the
15 new markets studied would provide a $1.7 billion
annual gain to the Dallas-area economy. C-H estimates a 46 percent gain in new
passenger traffic from nonresidents visiting the
Metroplex.
"Dallas' Love Field Airport is an
underutilized facility and the wobbly wheel of the economic engine which is the
entire transportation infrastructure in North Texas," Kelleher said. "You might
not know that Love Field is now Southwest's eighth-largest airport in terms of
departures, but it is only 17th-largest in terms of passenger traffic. Dr.
Campbell's view would pump much-needed air into a flattening tire for a much
smoother ride overall."
"It's foolhardy to argue
with prosperity," said Dr. Brian Campbell, chairman of Campbell-Hill Aviation
Group." Hotel occupancy in Dallas declined drastically by 22 percent from 1996
to 2003. For a city its size, Dallas cannot afford to ignore this issue and not
actively market itself to the rest of the country through healthy airline
competition."
It appears that lawmakers are
listening. Texas Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Sam Johnson recently introduced
"The Right to Fly Act" to immediately repeal the Wright Amendment. Kelleher
praised the leadership and vision shown by that effort. The bill now has seven
co-sponsors: Congressmen Jeb Bradley (NH), Lee Terry (NE), Jim Cooper (TN), Joe
Wilson (SC), Butch Otter (ID), and Texans Ron Paul and John Culberson. Kelleher
said he looks forward to a similar effort in the
Senate.
The Nevada State Senate and the Salt
Lake City Chamber of Commerce are the latest in a string of community efforts
and editorial positions to support repeal of the Wright Amendment, including the
North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, the Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle,
Tampa International Airport Authority, and a growing list of Dallas-area
economists and academics who say the competition presented by an unfettered Love
Field would lower airfares within the region.
Southwest Airlines launched a web site, http://www.setlovefree.com , as part of its education
campaign. The site received thousands of registrations within the first few
days. The site provides information on the Dallas Love Field Master Plan, the
benefits of state-of-the-art aircraft operated by Southwest, illustrates the
fare premium charged to Dallas-area travelers as a result of the Wright
Amendment, and Southwest's business reasons for not choosing DFW International
Airport as its next new start-up.
"Herb and
Colleen (Barrett) set the pace at the beginning, and Southwest Airlines has
remained steadfast, in its mission of low costs, high productivity, great
Customer Service, and low fares. It's why repealing the Wright Amendment is so
important," Kelly said.
Southwest Airlines, the
nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently
serves 60 airports in 31 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates
nearly 3,000 flights a day and has 31,000+ employees systemwide.
http://www.southwest.com
Editors' Advisory:
This
event was Web Cast. To view a replay: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=29245
B-Roll
will be made available via satellite:
Tuesday, June 7th, 2005
* 5:45 -
6:00 p.m. EDT (4:45 - 5:00 p.m. CDT)
KU ANALOG, AMC -9, TR 18, DL
12060V
**Also booked in C-Band**
* 5:45 - 6:00 p.m. EDT (4:45 - 5:00 p.m.
CDT)
IA 5, C-Band, TR 14, DL 3980H
* 7:45 - 8:00 p.m. EDT (6:45 - 7:00
p.m. CDT)
IA 5, C-Band, TR 14, DL 3980H
Wednesday, June 8th, 2005
*
3:00 - 3:15 a.m. EDT (2:00 - 2:15 a.m. CDT)
IA 5, C-Band, TR 7, DL
3840V/
Contact:
Public Relations of Southwest Airlines
+1-214-792-4847
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb249032.htm