Check with your congressman or senator. Several airlines have showered the states of key lawmakers with new routes and fare cuts at a time when carriers are being threatened with new regulations to stimulate competition in the skies. On the same day this month, Northwest Airlines announced dramatic fare cuts in South Dakota, home state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, and said it would inaugurate jet service to Gulfport, Miss., near Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's hometown of Pascagoula.
Airlines deny any political motive behind their moves.
But there are obvious political benefits for both the airlines and the lawmakers. In small cities like Sioux Falls and Gulfport, where air service is considered an economic lifeline, new routes are coveted. It's almost what you call private pork. It's a new wrinkle to an old theme. There is growing concern in Congress and the Clinton administration about consolidation in the airline industry and high air fares in markets dominated by one or two carriers.