Some even spend more time driving to the airport than they do in the air. That's because boarding a plane in Omaha or Kansas City can save passengers hundreds of dollars per flight. A first-grader could do the math. Money talks and yet another passenger walks away from an Iowa-based flight. While the laws of supply and demand generally steer consumer costs, competition helps keep prices reasonable.
Open competition is especially important to small and mid-sized airports.
They struggle to offer competitive air service to a smaller pool of passengers. For many rural communities, the absence of competition brings higher airfares, fewer flights and reduced ridership. Local economic development efforts and existing businesses fall victim to such anti- competitive schemes. It's time to take a closer look. If predatory pricing practices are driving away fair air competition in Iowa, it's nothing less than skyway robbery.