[jimworcs]

I do not believe, however, that current U.S. based airlines, should be allowed under foreign ownership. I believe American companies, should remain American owned.

I assume this means that you feel American companies should not be allowed to own foreign companies also. So US airlines should not be allowed to own foreign carriers. This will be a significant blow to many US airlines who have a number of wholly and partially owned companies. It would also be a blow to other US corporations who have extensive overseas interests as we all retreat into protectionist policies. Ironically, the biggest loser of a protectionist world would be the great industrial trading nations, the largest of which is the USA.

If a foreign country wants to open/start a new carrier, in the U.S., are begin operating within the U.S., with an already established airline, I have no problem with that. I do think that some provisions have to be made, however, to protect labor, if this is allowed, and truly make it about allowing competition

Virgin were prevented from starting a US based carrier and had to satisfy stringent rules just to allow a US based company to use their brand. Can we clear up this old canard. The labor laws which apply to the US airlines would also apply to foreign owned carriers. Foreign owned companies operating in the US do not have any exemption from US laws. BMW and Mercedes for example build cars in the US and have some of the most modern facilities and best working conditions of any employers. The implication that foreign owned companies operating in the US enjoy any special priviledges is nonsense. To further clarify, lets clear this up. Foreign ownership of an American company does not confer on the employer any rights to bring into the US foreign labour. The immigration laws are the same for all employers. This is a bogus protectionist argument.

if airlines did not overbook, we would be paying nearly twice as much, for fares

Air fares would not double if they banned overbooking. This is a nonsense. JetBlue, hardly the most expensive carrier in the US does not overbook. This is an argument put forward to create fear of reform. The solution is to amend the terms and conditions of tickets to manage this situation. Why does the overbooking argument not apply to other finite resources, such as concert tickets, theatre, etc. Some people don't turn up for these, but the venues cannot oversell on that assumption. The airlines appear to keep pleading special status and it is simply not merited.