Southwest restricted in its service to Dallas

DALLAS -- When Southwest Airlines expands its service in Las Vegas next year, one place that probably won't get direct flights is Dallas' Love Field.

That's because Southwest's service at its home airport is governed by terms of the Wright Amendment, a 20-year-old law written by former House Speaker Jim Wright.

The Wright Amendment was drawn to generate traffic at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when it was new by restricting flights to Love Field. The law limits flights from Love, Dallas' older airport, to and from other airports in Texas and four adjacent states. The legislation was further amended in subsequent years to include the states of Mississippi and Alabama.

Dallas was one of the three founding cities for Southwest when it started operations in 1971 and Love Field has grown to be Southwest's fourth largest airport with 139 daily departures from 14 gates.

Southwest's corporate headquarters is on Love Field's periphery. It's so close that at Friday afternoon cocktail parties at Southwest's rooftop patio, employees routinely gather to rate jet landings like Olympic judges.

But every plane that lands comes from one of 13 airports about a one-hour flight away.

Southwest's official stance on the Wright Amendment is that it is "passionately neutral." Neighborhood noise issues are a part of the equation.

Besides, if passengers really want to fly Southwest to Love Field from anywhere on Southwest's route, they can do it by just asking for it.

A Southwest spokeswoman said the airline can't market or sell flights restricted by the Wright Amendment and connections to Dallas aren't even listed in the airline's published schedule.

But when customers tell reservation agents they know about the restrictions but still want tickets, Southwest can accommodate, sell separate tickets for each flight segment and explain to customers how to transfer luggage.

For example, if Dallas travelers wanted to book flights to Las Vegas, they could book them through Houston; El Paso, Texas; or Albuquerque, N.M. But nonstop flights are impossible.

While Southwest won't put up a fight to lift the Wright Amendment, some airlines and potential destination cities have. When Southwest expanded into Jackson, Miss., and Birmingham, Ala., legislators in those states got the exemptions that allow Southwest to fly there directly.

Kansas lawmakers attempted to get its state exempted when start-up carrier Legend Airlines contemplated service between Love Field and Wichita, Kan.

Today, Southwest is joined by American Airlines and Continental Airlines in offering flights from Love Field. American and Continental also use Dallas-Fort Worth International, but Southwest doesn't go to that airport.

Las Vegas-based National Airlines, which recently started flying to Dallas, uses Dallas-Fort Worth International and therefore isn't subject to Wright Amendment restrictions.

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