Topper

Someone explain this Wright Amendment to me. I can't get a flight on SWA into Dallas unless I connect in a neighboring state. Why is there such a restriction there?

AAFrequentFlyer

Topper,
This article will esplain everything:
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas...ditorial2.html

OliveOyl

It has to do with protecting DFW and the long haul carriers flying out of it, but has always struck me as being illegal somehow. Southwest flies out of Love Field, and as per the Wright Amendment, no commercial carrier leaving Love with 56 or more seats can fly past the states that border TX without their passengers disembarking, WITH their luggage! You can, however fly from anywhere into Austin on SW if you don't mind driving back up to Dallas-a long, terminally boring, drive. The Wright Amendment has always been a huge PITA for Dallasites and displaced Dallasites who travel back there with any regularity. (Me) I honestly can't see how something designed solely to stiffle competition can be legal?

ChristieP

The Wright Amendment had its time and place, but that is now very outlived. Occasionally, there is an uprising to repeal it, but American Airlines (DFW carrier who stands to lose the most if SWA can compete directly) has well-paid lobbyists who always manage to squelch the effort. Well, now that AA is on the verge of Ch. 11, maybe the lobbyists won't be as well paid and SWA can finally get that darn law off the books.

You can also add a segment to Houston, Austin, OKC, or San Anton and catch the flight from there. Yes, it does make for a longer trip, but if you're getting one of SWA's cheap fares, it can be well worth it.

BeachBoi

I read on AP that AA has attained the goal they needed in concessions from the unions--$1.85B--and will NOT file bankruptcy.Great news!! But the WrightAmendment is ALL--totally-- about Jim Wright,Congressman from FtWorth.He got it thru Congress when he was Speaker and arguably the most powerful man in governemtn at the time.Out of respect for Mr Wright,the law will alomost surely remain in tact while he is living.

ncgrrl

I'm still slightly confused (normal state, by the way) on this issue.

As I understand from the reading, if I want to fly out of Love Field, on a plane that carries more than 56 passangers, to any state bordering Texas, I have to stop at some other airport in Texas. For example, Dallas-Love, to Houston/Austin/San Antonio, then onto New Orleans?

However, I can fly from Love field to a non-bordering state (like North Carolina) without an additional stop in Texas.

Does this sound right?

BeachBoi

Almost..You can fly Dallas Love Field to Louisiana,Oklahoma,New Mexico,Arkansas,non stop.Note this only applies to DALLAS. Not Austin/San Antonio/ElPaso/Houston.You can fly to NewOrleans and change plans,grab your luggage and get on a flight to Baltimore.Yes it is confusing.If I am flying Dallas to LA,then I have to buy a ticket Dallas to Albuquerque then Albuquerque to LA,get my bags in AB and re check in just as if I was boarding there.

AAFrequentFlyer

ncgrrl,
It's the opposite. You could fly to any state that borders with Texas without changing planes, but beyond that you must change planes within the bordering states.

OliveOyl

The problem with flying two segments is that it's two separate reservations. Instead of just making reservations from Tampa to Dallas, and changing planes in New Orleans, collecting luggage etc, you actually have to buy two separate tickets. One ticket is for Tampa to New Orleans (for example), the other from NO to Dallas. Because of the two separate trips, and one of them short, it worked out to be more expensive for us flying SW Tampa->Dallas than taking AA or Delta. What I can't understand is how a law that was designed to curtail competition can even be legal. Certainly it ensures that rates can remain high as it keeps the little discounters out.

Yes BeachBoi, they did pull it out at the last minute with agreements from all the unions. I do like AA and having lived in Big D as long as we did, it's certainly a favored carrier for us, but it sure would be nice to have an option to use SW to get there on occasion--last minute trips, etc.

BeachBoi

Olive
Agree 1000 %!! With some of the highest airfares on the planet,DFW area misses out on a lot of business that with low fares would probably come to the area--conventions,whatever.The "oldtimers" figure that when Mr Wright passes on to Glory,the amendment will be eliminated.And it was passed at a time when deregulation was king.Go figure.

ncgrrl

Ok, thanks for the help. I checked Southwest for possiblities from RDU to DAL and you can't get there from here. Checking Expedia to get from RDU to Dallas Love Field I would have to transfer in Houston, Atlanta, Memphis or Newark AND Houston (might be faster to drive than to that flight plan).

Amerian and Delta fly non-stop from Raleigh-Durham to DFW.

I guess if I ever leave the airport in the Dallas area it will be from the DFW airport.

Thanks Mr. Wright for this. At least he didn't destroy the runways in the middle of the night like Chicago Mayor Daley did.

Dan

I think the Wright amendment was relaxed a few years ago and you can fly from Love to Mississippi, Alabama, and Kansas. It's still very restrictive. (Southwest now offers Dallas-Jackson and Dallas-Birmingham service, but not nonstops. At least you can BUY the ticket now, though!)