When was southwest airlines founded

Despite this ruling, the controversy continued. In April the Dallas City Council attempted to close Love Field to commercial traffic, but once again court rulings enabled the airport to survive. Still, the bigger airlines were not through with Southwest. In , in an attempt to curb Southwest's growth, the major airlines at DFW sought support from Congress to bar flights from Love Field to anywhere outside of Texas. The Wright Amendment hampered Southwest's growth from Dallas Love Field, but it did not prevent the carrier from succeeding.

Southwest simply grew in other directions. The Wright Amendment continued to be a controversial issue. Congressional representatives from districts not served by Southwest introduced legislation to repeal the act in hopes of bringing nonstop Southwest service and low fares to states that do not border Texas. Other major airlines oppose repeal of the Wright Amendment. Meanwhile, Southwest's low fares continued to attract customers and force other airlines to discount their fares.

King resigned as an officer of the company in , but remained on the board of directors and flew the line for two years as a captain. When Muse left the company in March , Kelleher was asked to run the airline on an interim basis until a new president and CEO could be hired. Kelleher was appointed chairman of the company at that time and retained that title in Putnam subsequently left in September to take over the ailing Braniff Airways. At that time, Kelleher left his San Antonio law firm for good and began running Southwest full-time.

He was named permanent chairman, president, and chief executive officer on February 23, With the Airline Deregulation Act of , which permitted competition on routes across the country that were previously virtual monopolies, Southwest again expanded.

In early , it added service to San Diego, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix-its first service to cities outside of Texas and the surrounding states. Of course, in compliance with the terms of the Wright Amendment, direct service to these cities was not available from Dallas Love Field. Since the airline has grown substantially, generally by taking advantage of opportunities in markets that are overpriced and underserved.

With the inauguration of service to Baltimore Washington International in , Southwest served both coasts for the first time. Although a contract to build the train was awarded to Texas TGV, the company was unable to raise even a fraction of the start-up funds it required, and it ultimately defaulted on its contract.

The project remains "on hold" indefinitely. Investor Relations. Print page Email page Share page Facebook Twitter. Company Overview Third Quarter Results. Fleet 2 Load Factor Sign up now. View now. Throughout the s, Southwest continued to experiment with ticket prices. At the same time, several routes would see low fare offers. Significantly, however, Southwest would offer its companion fares on select flights. As the airline approached its 16th anniversary in , executives still had expansion on their minds.

In May of that year, Southwest announced it would order 20 seat s with options for 20 more. Throughout the s, Southwest earned high marks with customers, receiving few complaints and boasting a strong on-time record.

This came as, every year, the carrier continued to grow and add new destinations. Southwest inaugurated its first Boeing in early The airline billed it as the newest, most technologically advanced, and quietest aircraft in the world at the time. In May , the airline added its th airplane, also a Boeing Much of the early s was devoted to growth. By the end of , Southwest had aircraft in its fleet and had grown its recognition in the United States.

Continuing its trend from the previous decade, Southwest maintained high customer satisfaction. In , Congress enacted the Shelby Amendment. Also, in , Southwest accepts its first Boeing Next Generation. The airline is the launch customer for the type. In , Southwest added its th Boeing as it continued to expand on the East Coast, adding services out of Connecticut and North Carolina. By the end of the year, the carrier had aircraft in its fleet and flew over , trips that year.

In , Southwest ordered a firm 94 new Next-Generation aircraft on top of the 74 jets already on order. The airline also retained options for over aircraft.

Frequent use of the Ecopower system is estimated to improve fuel efficiency by about 1. In some cases the planes were allowed to fly for up to 30 months after the inspection deadlines had passed, rendering them unfit to fly. Records indicate that thousands of passengers were flown on aircraft deemed unsafe by federal standards. Southwest declined comment at the time, and US Representative James Oberstar advised a hearing would be held.

While some preferential hiring was indicated at the time of the purchase, the transaction ultimately did not include the purchase of any aircraft, facilities or transfers of employees directly from ATA.

On March 12, , Southwest Airlines voluntarily grounded 44 planes to check if they needed further inspection. There have also been rumors that the FAA knew about Southwest Airlines violations but decided not to fine the airline because it would disrupt the service of Southwest. The FAA gave Southwest two years in which to pay the fine.

Less than one month after submitting its bid, Southwest learned on August 14 that it had lost the initial bidding to Republic Airways Holdings, and elected not to counter or pursue the deal further. Industry experts had expected Southwest to win the initial round of bidding, allowing Southwest to grow its presence in Denver and serve international destinations. The work was performed by an outside maintenance company.

The FAA stated that the parts do not present a safety danger, but the airline was given until December 24, to replace the parts with those approved by the FAA. The FAA is still determining whether it will fine Southwest or its vendor. Southwest Airlines first announced the acquisition on September 27, , and received final approval from the United States Department of Justice on April 27, On May 2, , Southwest Airlines completed the acquisition of AirTran Airways by purchasing all of the outstanding common stock, corporate identity, and operating assets of AirTran Holdings, Inc.

The greatest impact on Southwest will likely be the elimination of a direct low-cost competitor, access to Atlanta, and the addition of landing slots in the New York and Washington DC areas.

Operations of the two airlines will remain isolated until terms of this integration are fully negotiated or arbitrated. Bound by federal law, such as McCaskill-Bond legislation, as well as a four-party process agreement, Southwest has confirmed that it will integrate all of the pilots in a fair and equitable manner. The purchase adds 25 additional destinations previously not served by Southwest including cities in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Atlanta, Georgia, an AirTran hub and, at the time the largest U.

On February 14, , Southwest announced that it had begun codesharing with AirTran. It took the first step on January 26, by launching shared itineraries in five markets.

Southwest continued to launch shared itineraries with 39 more markets beginning February 25, As of April , shared itineraries are available for travel between all Southwest and AirTran cities domestic and international. In May , it was announced the airlines will be fully integrated by December 29,