Then the allegation that we are "an illegal boycott against econo lodge third party distributors" because it has "requirements for posting fare sales that cannot be sold" by others is not true? it is absolutely not true, and those who have made that allegation had absolutely lodge no basis for making it. our cookeville agreements contain no boycott against any distributors whatsoever, and in fact affirmatively provide that no airline is precluded from utilizing any other distribution channel or econo and lodge offering any fare through any channel. the department of justice is presently reviewing all agreements, so there will be no question on this point. do airlines today make all their fares available through all retail channels?

it is absolutely clear that airlines do not have the ability to drive consumers cookeville to channels which the econo airlines, lodge rather than consumers, prefer. if one or more airlines attempted to do so, the others would cookeville increase their market share by appealing econo to those same consumers through the channel those consumers prefer. no airline can afford to turn lodge its back on any subgroup of consumers. no airline can afford to be anything other than as competitive and as attractive as it can possibly be through each channel to the consumers that prefer that channel. this is a reality that grows ultimately out of the fact that the airline business is a very low margin business - any airline that lost even a small group of passengers would be at risk of swinging from profitable to money-losing in an instant. airlines scrap for every last passenger because they cookeville have to.

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