PRESSLER’S SENIORITY, AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVANTAGE FOR SOUTH DAKOTA, WOULD HELP SOUTH DAKOTA’S AIRLINE Senator Larry Pressler today commented on his issue of the week, namely the poor and getting worse airline service out of South Dakota. Pressler said that he could be a powerful new United States Senator from South Dakota to fight for better air service. “Air Service in South Dakota has deteriorated badly. I would use my seniority, which I can take back to the Senate, to force the airlines to give South Dakotans better service.” Pressler listed eight areas where South Dakota passengers are being treated badly. 1. Prices are erratic. A flight that costs $300 one day may cost $1000 three or four days later with no explanation. 2. Ticket prices are too high – the airlines now make most of their profits nationally on short-line routes and less in some of their long flights, because there is more competition on the long flights. Thus the short routes are a cash cow for the airlines, but one wouldn’t realize that the way South Dakota’s ‘captive travelers’ are treated. South Dakotans need not apologize in asking for lower rates. 3. Service is particularly bad between Sioux Falls and Chicago, where passengers have to wait without explanation, particularly coming back from Chicago to Sioux Falls. On a Friday afternoon, flights are collapsed together without any explanation to passengers, and they just have to wait until the airline has all their flights full for that day. 4. South Dakota has no statewide flight from Sioux Falls to Rapid City. “When I was in office, I diligently met with the airlines to preserve that flight. It was profitable, although not as profitable as some of their other routes. But South Dakota needs across-the-state service. The only way you can get across South Dakota is to drive, or to fly through Minneapolis or Denver with a very expensive ticket. The statewide flight was dropped about three months after I was voted out of office in 1996. For example, a check on Saturday morning, November 1, 2014 by a passenger wanting to fly to Rapid City found that all the flights were booked for today, and that tomorrow one could fly a round trip for a cost of approximately $1,300. That is ridiculously prohibitive to the average businessperson or the average person wanting to fly across South Dakota.” 5. Flights to Aberdeen and to other South Dakota cities are frequently just cancelled without any notice. 6. South Dakota flights that are on a wait list to get into major airports are put onto the bottom of the list. For example, passengers at the Sioux City Iowa airport are treated much better. Said Senator Pressler, “This is because the Iowa Congressional delegation, particularly two very senior Senators, Senators Harkin and Grassley (I would have as much Seniority as they have), keeps meeting with the airlines and keeps the pressure on them regarding tax matters, foreign routes, and other items that the airlines needs help in Congress with. Even the smaller airports in Iowa get much better treatment than Sioux Falls passengers because nobody is advocating for our airlines.” 7. The airlines have gotten into a complete monopoly situation and are making huge profits on short runs that are treating the passengers worse and worse. 8. The airlines use the oldest equipment in South Dakota with the smallest seats. Mechanical problems are frequent, and often used as an excuse to collapse flights together or eliminate flights. Senator Pressler said, “I will be one of the 15 most senior United States senators if I am sent back to the senate. I will use my seniority to get on committees and to jawbone the airlines. Maybe some re-regulation will be necessary or at least threatened. Maybe they should transfer some of the profits from some of their international routes to benefit citizens in this country. Taxpayers provide free airports for the airlines to land on. They are the only part of the travel industry that gets that benefit. They should have some public duty. South Dakota air passengers need help, and I could give it to them as a senior United States Senator.” “I made it my project to have much better air service in South Dakota. We had a flight across the state until three months after I was defeated in 1996. The airlines contributed heavily to my defeat, and are very fearful that I will be elected this time and have poured money into this campaign via secondary groups that are attacking me with negative ads. When I was in the Senate, I met with the airlines on the average of once every two months. When McGovern and I were colleagues, we would meet with the airlines together. I would reinstate congressional meetings with our South Dakota congressional delegation, and arrange meetings with the airlines at least once every two months until this situation is resolved,” said Senator Pressler. Attached is a radio ad that is running in South Dakota radio that describes the problem. Pressler for Senate 3101 W 41st Street, Suite 210 Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57105 t: 605-274-0405 f: 605-274-0408 Paid for by Pressler for Senate
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 16:49:14 +0000
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