Senators Boxer, Ensign Introduce Bill to Allow More Flights Between DCA and Western Cities

March 17, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and John Ensign introduced legislation today that would revise an arbitrary restriction on Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) that limits competition and reduces choices for air travelers.

“This bill could mean good news for air travelers in western cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Right now there is only one direct flight per day from Washington National Airport to California, and there is strong consumer demand for more choices. This bill offers a balanced solution to meet that consumer demand without an overall increase in traffic or a reduction of service to smaller regional airports,” said Senator Boxer.

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The Boxer-Ensign bill would allow airlines at DCA to fly beyond the airport’s outdated 1250-mile perimeter rule, while still ensuring safe travel and protecting service to smaller neighboring communities. The bill does not repeal the perimeter restriction and does not break up any hub-and-spoke operations. The legislation is supported by U.S. Airways, a major carrier at DCA and McCarran Airport in Las Vegas.

“For too long competition at DCA has been delayed because of the perimeter rule,” said Ensign. “Revising this restriction would help free-market competition take off and would directly benefit the consumers who have clearly demonstrated a demand for additional flights to the West, including Las Vegas. This change would allow the market to better meet this demand.”

In some cities with multiple airports, perimeter restrictions were put in place to force airlines to base their longer flights at newer, regional airports. More than four decades ago, DCA’s perimeter was restricted to promote the then-new Washington Dulles International Airport. Today, however, advancements in technology and changes in the marketplace have eliminated the need to protect the now much larger Dulles Airport from competition with DCA.

By allowing the marketplace to operate more freely, this simple fix would give air travelers more options and may also lead to lower airfares on certain routes.

Source: Senator Barbara Boxer