Southwest Airlines

             In 1971 from a sketch on a napkin Southwest Airlines was born with three boeing737 jets flying to three Texas cities. Kelleher and a group of investors had put up the 560,000 dollars to found the company. (Business Week 1989).The philosophy of the company was clear to offer low-fare seats every flight every day.
             Southwest gave away leather ice buckets and fifths of liquor on its flights in order to keep its planes full (Financial World 1989).The fare war started in earnest in a heated war with Braniff. The company faced the fiercest competition anyone had within the airline industry, Southwest however captured a lot of local fans and sympathy.
             Southwest's big break came in 1974, when all other airlines serving Dallas's Love Field moved to the then new Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Inter continental airport. This move was required by a contract signed in 1968, before the birth of South west. Thus, the company was not obligated to move to DFW.
             Court battles with both the board of the DFW airport, as well as other airlines, followed. However, Southwest won the court battles before the US Supreme Court, giving the company a monopoly at Love Field (ibid.). Love Field was attractive because of its location close to down town Dallas, and thus was more convenient for business travellers than DFW.
             Ironically, Southwest was forced into the commuter role because of regulations. This was based on the Love Field section of the 'Wright amendment' to the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1978, which stated that no common carrier could provide scheduled passenger air transportation for compensation between Love Field and one or more points out side Texas and its four contiguous states.
             By limiting Love Field flights to Texas states New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma the amendment attempted to limit the ability of Southwest to compete with existing airlines.
             Southwest took advantage of the lim...

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Southwest Airlines. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 22:05, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/92022.html