Southwest Airlines pushing on Love Field and Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Fri, 05/27/2005 - 2:40pm.

Way back in the day an amendment called the Wright Amendment was passed in Texas. It limited the carriers who could use Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Southwest Airlines is now pushing to have it repealed.

The Wright Amendment was passed in 1979 and provides the following for carriers other than American Airlines:

Passenger service on regular mid-sized and large aircraft could only be provided from Love Field to locations within Texas and the four neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
Long-haul service to other states was possible, but only on commuter aircraft with no more capacity than 56 passengers.

This effectively killed the plans of any other carriers using Love Field.

The Shelby Amendment was passed and provided the following:

Love Field flights to three more states: Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama.
it expanded the definition of 56-passenger jets that could fly to other states to include any aircraft configured with 56 or fewer passenger seats, regardless of the plane's physical size

American Airlines is aggressively trying to stop Southwest Airlines from gaining ground in the Dallas community.

Herb Kelleher, the Cofounder and Executive Chairman of Southwest Airlines said:

Southwest does not intend to harm D/FW Airport or any of its air carriers. If that baseless concern persists, however, then the Wright Amendment could be gradually, in steps, phased out over a period of years, starting with its unprecedented and goofy marketing and ticketing restrictions.

Dallas has a reputation as a free-market, free-enterprise city. Does that reputation square with the 26 years of restricting Love Field in order to protect the carriers at D/FW so that they can impose higher fares on the public?

If the goofiness does not stop after 26 years of protectionism, when will it end?

The time is now!

In today's world there is no need for protectionism in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines has been great for the industry and the deserve to have the shackles removed.