The Wright Amendment

[Punkin's Mom]

I've tried a google search and couldn't find anything to tell me if the Wright amendment has been repealed or not. So I'm turning to the all-knowing Dis boards for answers.

Is it true? If so, how long will it be before we see long haul flights (say, to Orlando, for instance!) from Love Field?

The air fare from Dallas is killing me! Last time we went to DW, it almost doubled our cost.

Thanks for the info!

 

[m&m's mom]

OK, If Nebsky sees this we will get a very complete answer but... in the meantime.
Bush signed the bill I believe but it will be years before we see direct flights from Love to MCO. Wish it wasn't so, but it is.

 

[bekkiz]

Yes!

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/4395066.html

From southwest.com:
" Set Love Free
Hooray! President Bush has signed S.3661, the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006. Now, only one other step is required before the law becomes effective. Section 7 of the bill, entitled "Effective Date," specifies that the law will take effect on the date that the FAA Administrator notifies Congress that any new aviation operations in North Texas occurring as a result of this new-found freedom to fly can be accommodated without adverse effect on the airspace. The FAA has already testified before Congress that any new operations can be handled without a problem, so we expect this notification to be forthcoming shortly. But, we cannot control the timing. So stay tuned. Only one more step to go before Freedom reigns!"

 

[TheDoctor]

That is nice. The Wright Amendment is a pain.

 

[Frantasmic]

You won't see long-haul, non-stop flights from Love Field for 8 years.

What you will see immediately is that you can check your luggage through to your final destination and receive your tickets; however, you will still have to stop in one of the neighboring states, or St. Louis/Kansas City, before going onto other destinations. You won't have to reticket and your luggage will go through like it is a regular ticket now.

 

[Punkin's Mom]

So what's the hold up? If the FAA says it's ok and Congress says it's ok, why will it take years? I'm so sick of basically having one choice to get out of town. DFW is not nearly as convenient as Love either. My husband used to travel a ton for work so we had lots of miles and took a lot of free flights. THat's pretty much dried up now and paying the high fares that American wants really stinks!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What about DFW?

 

[Beca]

It will take years for non-stops because that was the agreement reached to appease all parties. Otherwise, lawsuits were threatened (and some even taken to court, thus the "few months" delay that we have experienced).

However, even though you will have to change planes in a neighboring state, you will NOT have to buy two tickets, or retrieve your bags from your first flight, and check them on your second (then, return thru security). You will also be protected now if your 1st flight is delayed. Before, SWA could not even recognize if your first flight was late, because that would be giving you protections for traveling somewhere other than where they were allowed to take you.

All of these changes are HUGE for those of us who like to fly SWA to Orlando, or other non-contiguous states. For my family of 3, it means it will now cost us about $600 to fly to Orlando, instead of $900. It also means that if our first flight is delayed and we miss our connection, that we will NOT have to upgrade to "full fare" to go on a standby list, and we will be offered either a confirmed reservation on another flight, or will receive priority standby status, instead of just getting "somewhere" on the standby list.

And, for us "Disneyphiles", we can now use our ME tags on our luggage in Dal, instead of having to retrieve our bags in Hou, tag them, go back thru security, and check-in for our next flight!!

I would expect to see the new phase starting within a week or two!!!

 

[Frantasmic]

The holdup is the agreement between Dallas, Fort Worth, SW, American, DFW Airport, and Love Field.

Provisions include the 8 year wait for total lifting of the requirement, the allowance of through ticketing and luggage, plus the reduction of gates from 32 to 20.

These were all hatching out mostly between American and SW for competitive reasons. 8 years allows American to get a competitive foot hold at Love, which apparently SW was willing to allow in exchange for the 8 year weight.

I live in SW Fort Worth, so going to Love Field is a long haul for me. I had mixed feelings about the WA repeal.

I think the compromise worked well for the airlines, but probably not best for those of you who live east of I-35E and use Love primarily.

 

[Punkin's Mom]

However, even though you will have to change planes in a neighboring state, you will NOT have to buy two tickets, or retrieve your bags from your first flight, and check them on your second (then, return thru security). You will also be protected now if your 1st flight is delayed. Before, SWA could not even recognize if your first flight was late, because that would be giving you protections for traveling somewhere other than where they were allowed to take you.

I would expect to see the new phase starting within a week or two!!!

I just went to the Southwest website and it still lists the limited destinations when you enter a departure from Love Field. I guess it takes time to make all the changes to their computer system.

Even making a stop, if the price is right (no pun intended) then it would be worth it.

 

[disneymom3]

So, what is the Wright Ammendment. Or I guess I should say was?

 

[Punkin's Mom]

So, what is the Wright Ammendment. Or I guess I should say was?

It is/was legislation that prevents flights leaving Love Field from going anywhere beyond the contiguous states. (It started in the late seventies in an effort to make sure DFW would thrive.) If I wanted to go to Orlando, I'd have to fly to Houston or St. Louis or Little Rock, get my luggage, check in again and fly from there to Orlando. The changes talked about in this thread will help, but it sounds like it'll be a long time for big changes come about.

 

[cathy0124]

I heard an interview from one of the VP's at SW this am and he said it would take about a week for them to finish working out the schedules and the new fares. Know what the best thing is? FARE WAR! This means that even IF you are still planning on flying out of DFW- AA will be lowing their ticket prices in order to compete with the new SW destinations..
Wohaa! Tom Parson's of Best Fares Magazine said things should get VERY good for travelers in the DFW Area...

 

[Planogirl]

From what I understand, American was the biggest hurdle in getting this ridiculous law repealed. They fought hard to keep it in place, the jerks.

I'm so glad that it's going away. I'll be fine with stopping once if we get to to fly SW.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

As a new Dallas-dweller, I have to say OH GOODIE!!

However, I don't think I'm going to be able to afford WDW anytime soon...especially with ticket prices over the past couple of years.

 

[janette]

The last step was completed yesterday. Southwest said they expect to have tickets / schedules available today. Keep watching the website, I wish I had a trip coming up I think they'll have some great specials to Orlando in the coming months. It was on their list of cities they will ticket to quickly