Again, we believe that the DOT can take steps to promote this healthy competition using its own authority. We come before this committee in support of efforts by this Congress to pass legislation that will ensure a fair and equitable opportunity for competing airlines to obtain slots and gates and thereby access to key airports in our country. Our involvement with airline issues has taught us that one of the primary factors that impedes competition in the industry lies in the ability of airlines to dominate individual airports. Quite obviously if competing airlines cannot get access to an airport, competition is impossible, regardless of any other factor. In our view, airport access is a key to a real competitive marketplace.
Access refers to both the physical space and also the vital time periods when people want to travel.
Our current system consists of an unplanned mixture of airport rules, transportation regulations, lease obligations, and squatters rights, that allow individual carriers to gain significant power to control access to individual airports. These conditions allow carriers such as Northwest to dominate the hub at Minneapolis-Saint Paul, for United and American to dominate O'Hare in Chicago, and for Delta to dominate Atlanta. And the most remarkable thing about this phenomenon is that it is effective against even the most powerful competitors in the industry. Not only making it difficult for small carriers to serve Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, the lack of access curbs the major carriers' ability to compete effectively in those markets as well. Air transportation is a network business.