rier air transportation of passengers between Love Field and locations outside of Texas was being provided as of 1 November 1979 [the effective date of the Wright Amendment]
The practical effect of the Wright Amendment was to restrict the operations of Southwest Airlines because, as of 1 November 1979, Southwest Airlines was the only common carrier providing air transportation services for passengers between Love Field and locations outside of Texas. Further, at that time Southwest Airlines was providing such services only to the four states contiguous to Texas รน Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma (Morrison 480-481). In application, the restrictions placed on Southwest Airlines meant that the carrier could not (a) offer direct service between Love Field and any location outside of the five-state area, (b) sell single tickets allowing passengers leaving from or traveling to Love Field from outside of the five-state area to transfer to connecting flights at points within the five-state area to complete their trips, and (c) allow passengers leaving from or traveling to Love Field to check baggage through to destinations when
destinations for passengers leaving Love Field were outside the five-state area, or
Love Field was the destination for passengers initiating their trips outside of the five-state area (Labich 45)
A part of the motivation for the Wright Amendment was to place restrictions on Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines was formed in 1967; however, it was another four years before it made its first flight from Dallas to San Antonio in 1971. Entrenched industry forces (Braniff International, Continental Airlines, and Trans Texas Airlines all battled to keep the new low-cost, no-frills from ever taking to the air). The entrenched industry forces lost that battle, but with the help of political allies in strategic positions they succeeded in efforts to enact the Wright Amendment that placed some rest...