In Case You Missed It: Consumer Technology Association Voices Support For The DCA Act

In case you missed it, NBC affiliate KSNV-TV (Las Vegas, NV) reported on a new letter from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which represents the $505 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, to Congress urging support for the bipartisan Direct Capital Access Act (The DCA Act). 

In the letter, CTA points to its headquarters near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), as well as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is Las Vegas’s largest convention and the biggest tech show in the world. “People in Las Vegas should care about it because it’s very limited direct flights to Las Vegas in the DC area. There are only four flights a day out of three airports. And two of those airports are about an hour away from DC,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA.

The piece also notes the strong bipartisan support this issue is receiving including from Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Nevada Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen who are both members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In a statement Rosen said, “Increasing the number of long-haul flights from Washington National Airport could help Western cities like Las Vegas bring in more visitors, boosting tourism and helping our local economy.”

Read the entire piece in KSNV-TV HERE and below:

CES Organizers Push Congress To Change Decades-Old Rule, Open More Flights Between Vegas And DC
KSNV-TV
Staff
June 23, 2023
https://news3lv.com/news/local/ces-organizers-push-congress-to-change-decades-old-rule-open-more-flights-between-vegas-and-dc

This week, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) sent a letter to Congress endorsing a proposed measure that would loosen what’s known as the “perimeter rule” at the Reagan National Airport (DCA), which would allow more flights between Washington DC and Las Vegas.

Headquartered in the nation’s capital near the Reagan Airport, CTA runs the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) every year at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It’s considered the city’s largest convention and the biggest tech show in the world, bringing in hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.

“People in Las Vegas should care about it because it’s very limited direct flights to Las Vegas in the DC area. There are only four flights a day out of three airports. And two of those airports are about an hour away from DC,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA. The other two airports he references are Washington Dulles and Baltimore.

The bill being endorsed by the CTA is known as H.R. 3185, The Direct Capital Access Act. The CTA hopes it would be included in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization package.

The federally imposed “perimeter rule” at DCA restricts the number of flights that can go in and out of the airport for cities outside a 1,250-mile radius. This essentially limits Western cities from being able to access DCA unless they have an exemption. It’s been in effect for nearly 60 years.

Currently, there’s only one flight a day from Harry Reid International Airport to DCA.

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The letter from the CTA to Congress was addressed to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as well as the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, sits on the Commerce Committee and is in support of this approval of the Direct Capital Access Act. If approved as written, DCA would gain 28 more flights, but not all of them would go to Vegas. However, due to the popularity of the desert city, it’s expected Harry Reid Airport would be granted a portion of those 28 exemptions.

“Increasing the number of long-haul flights from Washington National Airport could help Western cities like Las Vegas bring in more visitors, boosting tourism and helping our local economy,” said Senator Jacky Rosen in a statement.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, also sits on the Commerce Committee. Showing bipartisan support for the measure, his office also said he supports it as a priority.

“Sen. Cruz has repeatedly supported increasing access to DCA for travelers both from Texas and across the country. Congress doesn’t micromanage flights between Newark and LaGuardia, O’Hare and Midway, or Dallas and Love Field, and it shouldn’t do so between DCA and Dulles,” said a spokesperson for Sen. Cruz and the Commerce Committee.

“As lawmakers continue work on the FAA reauthorization bill, providing more affordable flight options into and out of Washington will be a priority for Sen. Cruz and many Republican and Democrat members of this committee—all to the benefit of consumers who want a more convenient experience, less travel time, and lower costs.”

It’s unclear how successful the movement will be this time around, but aviation experts such as Brian Sumers from The Airline Observer think the “perimeter rule” is a “relic of the past.”

“Right now, you have a situation where the federal government is saying there can be only one airline, once a day, flying a route from Las Vegas,” said Sumers. “If you’re a consumer, you want choice. You want Delta to come in there. Maybe you want Spirit Airlines or Frontier Airlines to come in there with cheaper flights. And it does seem a little unfair that Congress is holding onto something that is decades old. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense anymore.”

About CAA

CAA consists of diverse members from around the country and various industries, including transportation, general business groups, the small business sector, entrepreneurs and job creators, organizations focused on economic development and leaders in the civic and policy communities.

Learn more about Capital Access Alliance HERE.

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