ABSTRACT
Southwest Airlines, one of the most successful United States airlines, was controversial from its inception. Although the Texas Aeronautics Commission approved Southwest’s petition to fly on February 20, 1968, the nascent airline was locked in legal battles for three years because competing airlines-Braniff, TransTexas, and Continental-fought through political and legal means to keep it out of the market. Through the efforts of Herb Kelleher, a New York University law school graduate, Southwest finally secured the support of both the Texas Supreme Court and the U. S. Supreme Court and began service June 18, 1971 to Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
