Southwest Airlines wins Love - but also new competitive forces with repeal of Wright Amendment

Southwest Airlines marks a watershed historical moment in Oct-2014 with the official repeal of the Wright Amendment that has restricted flights from its home at Dallas Love Field for nearly 36 years. The carrier kicked off what could be a year-long celebration in Oct-2013 when it installed a clock at its headquarters officially counting the days, minutes and hours until the restrictions expired.

In early Feb-2014 Southwest revealed 15 non-stop longer-haul routes it plans to inaugurate from Dallas Love Field in late 2014. The markets unsurprisingly comprise some of Southwest's largest markets in terms of daily departures including Denver, Chicago Midway and Baltimore-Washington. Other markets listed on the roster are strategic business routes including New York LaGuardia and Washington National.

Free from the years-long artificial constraints of the Wright Amendment, Southwest believes it can ignite true competition in North Texas, weakening American's stronghold on higher fares in the market. But the US airline industry is drastically different today from when Southwest successfully campaigned to demolish the amendment in 2006, and its repeal in 2014 may be more of a unifying force for Southwest employees than a major game changer in the current competitive landscape.