PlaneBuzz

The saga over the Wright Amendment, I'm convinced, will never be over. Giving this concept added life this week was the news that both JetBlue and Northwest are not entirely happy with the fact the city of Dallas has now effectively "shut them out" of Love Field. As a result, both airlines intend to fight against the proposed agreement on Capital Hill.

Prior to the recently announced "agreement" between the City of Dallas, Ft. Worth, American, and Southwest, we had heard that Pinnacle was seeking to purchase the old Legend Airlines terminal on Lemmon Avenue. (On the East side of Love Field.) This would have given Northwest a toehold at the airport.

Meanwhile, it's been no secret that JetBlue has been eyeing Texas more closely. In fact this week the airline announced new service from Houston's Hobby Airport to JFK.

However, with the Wright "agreement" -- the city of Dallas put constraints on the number of gates that could be operated at the airport. As part of this constriction of gates at Love, the city said that it was going to bulldoze the old Legend terminal. This part of the agreement would effectively stop a potential Pinnacle arrival.

As for JetBlue, as JetBlue opined Tuesday, if they want to fly into and out of the DFW area, they certainly don't want to do it out of DFW International. Not under the competitive gaze of American Airlines. No, they'd rather fly out of Love Field. But under the new "agreement," it does not appear there is any room at the airport for any other airlines.

JetBlue's SVP of Government Affairs, Rob Land, called the recently announced Wright agreement, "anticompetitive and bad for consumers." JetBlue had previously sided with Southwest, in calling for a repeal of the Wright Amendment.

"This is an anti-competitive deal that was put together by two carriers in a backroom," Land told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "JetBlue would like to serve Dallas at Love Field, but under this, we wouldn't be able to get any gates. Nobody would."