mr. ridley also would support is transparency. so if that means that you got an airline that as bumbling and one that is not, it just needs to be made clear to the consumer about how you compare those, apples and apples. did i characterize it right? >> i think that is fair, yes. >> let me ask -- in our briefing, it says that through various rulings and guidance, the dot has required that airlines and ticket agents disclose the following fees in air fare advertisements -- fuel surcharges, holiday surcharges, and government fees, among others. do either of you -- or what do you think -- do you think it would add substantially to airline costs or were really substantially decrease airline travel if the airlines were required to disclose these things, like extra charges for bags and things, the kind of fees we have been talking about here today? >> mr. duncan, from the work we have done, we have seen no indication that the showing of fees and transparency of fees and disclosure would decrease travel. >> would it be substantial cause f

mr. ridley is a throwback to 18th century optimism and adam smith, who wrote that exchange is the cause of the wealth of nations. >> give me that which i want and you shall have this which you want. >> reporter: you specialize through the division of labor; you get better and faster at making what others want, you get more in return. it's an idea so powerful and durable, it's printed on england's 20-pound note. >> that's what we're always striving for, is to be able to afford more goods and services, to be able to afford to have other people do things for us, and that's as if it were the thing that's been inexorably increasing over history particularly in the last 200 years. >> reporter: the exchange of goods, services and ideas about how to produce more efficiently has delivered humanity from the limits of old. >> so you'd never get this many people living in an area this size in hunter gatherer societies because it took a huge acreage to support a hunter gatherer tribe. each person needed about a 1,000 hectares. that's three central parks. the invention of agriculture, particularly the i

mr. ridley. >> thank you for inviting southwest airlines to testify at today's hearing spirited my name isley. i live in a southwest employee since 1988. i am accountable for the company's topline revenue performance. my responsibilities include pricing, advertising, and the maintenance of our brand image as america's leading low-fare, high customer service airline. today, southwest is the nation's largest airline in terms of domestic passengers. caring more customers than any u.s. airline, which now carry over 100 million customers a year, serving 59 cities and 35 states. we are the most heavily unionized airline in the country. we are the only airline that has not had an involuntary furlough of an employee since ar inception in 1971. after 39 successful years in the airline business, southwest continues to look for ways to differentiate ourselves from other airlines beyond our consistently low fares and our great customer service. most recently, we chose to make our affordable transparent, and easy to understand the pricing structure a focal point in winning the hearts and minds of the f