12. What is the Wright Amendment? What is the Texas two-step?
a. (nsx) When Southwest started interstate service from Love Field in Dallas, the DFW people had a cow. The Wright Amendment was a compromise, prohibiting most long-distance commercial flights from Love Field but allowing the kind of short-haul flights that Southwest offers. See
http://www.fact-index.com/l/lo/love_field.html for more.
b. (nsx) Because of Wright Amendment restrictions, travelers who wish to buy tickets from Dallas to points beyond the bordering states or Mississippi or Alabama (added by the Shelby amendment) or Missouri (added December 2005) must purchase two trips: one to the border state or Houston Hobby and another between there and the actual destination. This is the Texas two-step. If your inbound flight is delayed and you miss your outbound flight, you may have to pay the difference between full fare and what you bought to take the next flight.
c. (nsx) If you are traveling on a ticket with zero face value, including Rapid Rewards and Green Passes given to employees, the Wright Amendment does not apply and you can call Southwest to book the complete trip. You can also check luggage all the way through on a free ticket.
d. (sanFF) As long as you do not break minimum connection time rules, you can check a bag through to your destination on a two-step itinerary for which there is no published service. You will not be able to print a boarding pass for step 2 at your step 1 origin, but you can do so at the step 2 gate with no problem.
e. (nsx) You may now check bags all the way through on a two-step itinerary to or from DAL (Love field).