I guess it's cool that San Diego will get another accessible airport out of the deal, but it seems like this will otherwise just kill off another good thing.
I bet that guy saving $1,000 on his flights doesn't mind the hour of extra work it takes him to do so, and that the people taking advantage of this little arbitrage are all fine with it too. But it's plain to see that on Day One of the new bridge thing, airfares will adjust so that now it costs exactly $12-$19 less to fly out of Tijuana vs San Diego (adjusted based on whatever silly fee they put in place to walk across that bridge). No more $1,000 savings. No particular reason to use this airport in favor of the old one if it worked for you.
It reminds me a bit of the big push in the late 70's to put as many Diesel cars on the road as possible because "Look at how cheap Diesel is!!! It's like half the price of Regular!!!". Which was indeed the case, until four days after all those diesels hit the road.
But it's plain to see that on Day One of the new bridge thing, airfares will adjust so that now it costs exactly $12-$19 less to fly out of Tijuana vs San Diego (adjusted based on whatever silly fee they put in place to walk across that bridge). No more $1,000 savings.
This is true, there will likely not be $1000 savings for Tijuana relative to San Diego. But that's not the relevant counterfactual.
What is likely to happen is prices in San Diego will be $500 cheaper than they would be without the bridge and in Tijuana they will be $500 more. (The $500 number is taken from oversimplifying and assuming the airports are of equal size, and it might be more or less. The point is price will drop in SD since supply increased and will rise in Tijuana since demand increased.)
Diesel is still cheaper both absolutely and by distance driven in most European countries even if the penetration of Diesel vehicles is much higher than in the US.
Diesel in the UK and France, in my own experience, is more expensive per litre than petrol. Diesel is more expensive partly because all the tight regulations on emissions, low sulfur and all nonsense.
I've been living in France (and driving a diesel Peugeot 206) since 2006; diesel (gazole) is always cheaper than standard petrol (and that's part of why I bought this car). See: http://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/
You do seem to be correct about the UK, though -- diesel is a bit more expensive than basic unleaded petrol.
I bet that guy saving $1,000 on his flights doesn't mind the hour of extra work it takes him to do so, and that the people taking advantage of this little arbitrage are all fine with it too. But it's plain to see that on Day One of the new bridge thing, airfares will adjust so that now it costs exactly $12-$19 less to fly out of Tijuana vs San Diego (adjusted based on whatever silly fee they put in place to walk across that bridge). No more $1,000 savings. No particular reason to use this airport in favor of the old one if it worked for you.
It reminds me a bit of the big push in the late 70's to put as many Diesel cars on the road as possible because "Look at how cheap Diesel is!!! It's like half the price of Regular!!!". Which was indeed the case, until four days after all those diesels hit the road.