Jones was speaking at a New America Foundation panel discussion titled “Is It Time to Re-Regulate America’s Broken Airline System?” The debate revolved around a recent article in the Washington Monthly by Philip Longman and Lina Khan, who argued that more and more regions are finding themselves isolated as airlines merge, consolidate, and prune their less-profitable hubs and routes.

Original article

Mergers and a focus on loyalty programs for business passengers on high-volume routes have bypassed major cities, including St. Louis, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, forcing companies to relocate because of deteriorating air service, said Phillip Longman of the New America Foundation, a nonprofit Washington think tank. His recent article in Washington Monthly spurred Tuesday's discussion on whether it is time to "re-regulate" the airlines.

“Wal-Mart is a symptom of a true revolution in the regulation of the political economy,” says Barry Lynn, a fellow of the New America Foundation. Bigness itself can be a problem, and competition as much as efficiency should be our goal, he argues, ...

As Phillip Longman and Lina Khan note in the March/April issue of the Washington Monthly, major heartland cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Minneapolis have lost much of their air service and endured skyrocketing fares. Major companies are moving their headquarters out of these cities, or not moving into them, as a result.

Original article