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| Southwest Airlines |
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based on domestic passengers carried, as of June 30, 2010. Southwest operates more than 3,400 flights a day, as of March 2011, utilizing a fleet of 690 aircraft.
Southwest is the United States most successful low fare, high frequency, point-to-point carrier. Southwest controls costs through operation of only two aircraft types on high-density routes throughout the United States and offering few traditional airline services including first class seating, airport lounges, reserved seat assignments, and video and audio programing. Southwest claims that by not offering these services, it can offer lower fares and produce a higher return on invested capital than other airline companies.
Southwest Airlines traces its roots to the March 15, 1967 incorporation of Air Southwest Co. by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher to provide service within the state of Texas.
Kelleher believed that by providing intrastate service within Texas, the airline could avoid federal regulation. Three incumbent airlines, Braniff, Trans-Texas, and Continental Airlines, initiated legal action which was not resolved for three years. Air Southwest prevailed in 1970 when the Texas Supreme Court upheld Air Southwest’s right to fly within Texas. The Texas Supreme Court's decision became final on December 7, 1970, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case without comment.
The story of Southwest’s legal fight was turned into a children’s book, Gumwrappers and Goggles by Winifred Barnum in 1983. In the story, TJ Love, a small jet, is taken to court by two larger jets to keep him from their hangar and to stop him from flying. In court, TJ Love’s right to fly is upheld after an impassioned plea from a character referred to as "The Lawyer". While no company names are mentioned in the book, TJ Love’s colors are those of Southwest Airlines, and the two other jets are colored in Braniff and Continental’s colors. The Lawyer is designed to resemble Herb Kelleher. The book was adapted into a stage musical, Show Your Spirit, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, and played only in towns serviced by the airline.
On March 29, 1971, Air Southwest Co. changed its name to Southwest Airlines Co. Operating from its Dallas, Texas headquarters, Air Southwest began customer service on June 18, 1971, offering service to the Texas cities of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio using three Boeing 737 aircraft.