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June thru August - 2005 By June, both the weather and the fight were starting to heat up. Bills introduced in the summer in the U.S. House and Senate called for the repeal of the amendment outright, and other measures would exempt Missouri and Tennessee from the restrictions. In Oklahoma, where American Airlines is the state's eighth largest employer with a maintainence facility in Tulsa, one senator filed a bill to close Love Field to scheduled service if the Wright Amendment were repealed, proclaiming that such a move would "enhance true competition." Considering that Ft. Worth's Alliance Airport has an American Airlines maintainence facility that competes with the one in Tulsa, perhaps the senator should consider filing a bill to close Ft. Worth's Alliance Airport. Lawmakers in Iowa were lobbying to pass legislation to ban Southwest from expanding at Love, claiming that doing so would harm air service at Des Moines, a place where Southwest doesn't fly, In angry retaliation, a Texas lawmaker proposed a bill to close the airports in Tulsa and Des Moines. Senators from other states, such as Nevada, urged Wright's repeal, claiming it would improve air service to the entire nation. Unlike previous times when Ft. Worth, American and DFW had been able to keep the matter a "local issue" and out of the mainstream media, this time the entire nation was weighing in on the debate. It seemed every other day throughout the hot dry summer there was another article arguing the pros and cons of Wright's repeal.
Participating Southwest employees were being offered incentives to gather names, such as a free airline ticket to any destination Southwest serves for every 500 signatures collected. That provided motivation for employees to fan out across the region searching for support, going to churches, sporting events, parks, camps, gyms, day-care centers, etc. Other employees dressed in 1970s flight attendant uniforms, featuring orange hot pants and white go-go boots, collected signatures at several Dallas restaurants. The old uniforms were worn to demonstrate how much things had changed since the Wright Amendment was initially passed, Southwest's Ed Stewart said. "The uniforms are as outdated as the Wright Amendment. Both of them look pretty ridiculous now." As usual, the righteous folks over in Ft. Worth didn't "get it," or if they did, they chose to spin it in an entirely different direction. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram Staff Writer Bob Ray Sanders wrote that the tactic of wearing hot pants and go-go boots and going out to "captive audiences" to collect signatures for petitions supporting the airline's position was a bit on the sleazy side, saying although they had clipboards in their hands, they might as well have been carrying trays of chicken wings. In a downtown Fort Worth bar, Sanders wrote, Two of the women -- I'm sorry but I find the "GIRLS" thing offensive -- were wearing the classic orange hot pants and white go-go boots. When they finally reached him and asked for his signature, he politely said, "No thanks," and asked how many signatures they got that evening. "Too many to count," said one, as she walked away with her clipboard. "Thousands," said the other, as she handed me two bags of peanuts. They really showed a lot of ... Love. Next, Southwest Airlines launched a promotional blitz against the Wright Amendment with a major advertising buy in North Texas that executives called "massive,"according to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram The spots began running July 31, and featured a map showing how many cities could be served from Love Field if the amendment was overturned. Those ads, were in addition to commercials shown during Texas Rangers baseball games. Southwest executives were also working on developing new TV spots and radio ads. Signs with "The Wright Amendment Need to Make a Quick Departure" and other slogans were hung in the gate areas of Southwest's Concourse at Love Field. A huge banner was hung across Southwest's headquarters, visible by passengers taxiing into position for take-off which said "Wright Is Wrong. Set Love Free." The Love Field Antique Mall donated the space on its rooftop for a "bigger than Texas" Wright Amendment message that could be viewed from the air. The message read, "Wright is Wrong, SetLoveFree.com" and was generally visible from the left side of the aircraft during takeoff. The momentum was gathering. |
| Petition Drive
Tune - Favorite Things
Hey listen up now
We have fun flyin'
We'd fly to Hartford
When they price gouge,
Small and convenient
Fast, friendly service
Hey - did you hear,
When they price gouge, |
| This site was started by an Austin flyer and is dedicated to North Texas residents and employees of Love Field and Southwest Airlines who are working hard to get this law repealed. This site is not affiliated with Southwest Airlines, Dallas Love Field or the City of Dallas.
For more information on the Wright Amendment and to find out how you can help, please visit the following websites.
 
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