Southwest To Offer Direct Flights To Phoenix From Dallas
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A decades-long fight over long-haul flights out of Dallas’ Love Field will come to an end for Southwest Airlines this October. Phoenix will be one of those cities to benefit from the new non-stop flights.
Southwest Airlines, the nation’s largest low-cost carrier, will be allowed to begin direct service out of Dallas’ Love Field, because of the expiration of the Wright Amendment, a federal law passed in 1979, which limited flights out of Love Field to only Texas airports and to a handful of other states. Industry expert, Robert Mittelstaedt of Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business said he believes the liberation of flights out of Dallas will give Southwest more options, but travelers need to wait and see how the changes will affect flight routes and fares.
“Well, the end of the Wright Amendment certainly gives Southwest more flexibility, in terms of where they funnel passengers. I think that it will have some effect, I don’t know if it will be dramatic, because it just gives Southwest additional hub flexibility. Whether they want to invest in order to make (Dallas) as big a hub as their current Houston hub remains to be seen," said Mittelstaedt.
The new Southwest routes will begin flying out of Dallas Love Field in October to Baltimore, Chicago and three other cities. In November, Southwest will launch a second round of non-stop flights to Phoenix, Washington’s Reagan National as well as eight other airports. The airline said it will announce frequencies and fares in May.
