Route map for southwest airlines4/11/2024 But then he did what any good lawyer would do: He asked to hear more-over a few stiff drinks. Initially, Herb couldn’t help but shake his head over the sheer moxie of it all. He could sense even early on that the plan’s underlying philosophy-low fares, reliable service, greater freedom, and efficiency in traveling across the state-could transform the local aviation industry for the better. He ascribed to the creed, “If it’s conventional, it ain’t wisdom, and if it’s wisdom, it ain’t conventional.” Plus, Herb, always a big-picture thinker, foresaw potential auxiliary benefits as well: namely, that greater flight options might boost local economies.Īlthough Herb was honing his reputation as a disciplined corporate lawyer, he possessed a maverick streak of his own. Everyone knew that traveling between San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston was a royal pain. Besides, King’s idea had been inspired by research being conducted by a local banker, who’d championed his idea. Bigger cities paired with bigger planes would provide more flight options and generate more stable profits. Understanding Texas culture, King had a hunch that bigger really was better when it came to flying the Lone Star skies. He saw striking similarities between Texas and California, which both possessed vibrant economies and large cities spread too far apart to easily travel by bus or car. In fact, he pointed to the growing strength of Pacific Southwest Airlines, a California intrastate carrier, as further validation for his plan. The knowledge that most intrastate airlines, outside of California, were struggling mightily didn’t faze King, either. King figured the struggling venture deserved to be put out of its misery, in part because he’d thought too small by serving only small Texas towns from Uvalde to Eagle Pass. The fact that King was paying Herb to liquidate his current airline-fittingly named the Wild Goose Flying Service at its inception-didn’t dampen his enthusiasm one bit. Rollin King, amateur pilot and dreamer extraordinaire, hoped to launch a new airline: a short-haul intrastate carrier built to quickly and economically shuttle Customers between three of Texas’ biggest cities: San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston.
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