| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Southwest Airlines is celebrating its 50th |
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| 6 | 7 | | anniversary in 2021; and |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1967, Herb Kelleher and Rollin King founded the |
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| 8 | 9 | | company with a concept simple enough to fit on a cocktail napkin; |
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| 9 | 10 | | they envisioned a triangle connecting Dallas, Houston, and San |
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| 10 | 11 | | Antonio, and after victories in court against challenges by |
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| 11 | 12 | | competitors, Southwest carried its first passengers on June 18, |
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| 12 | 13 | | 1971; two years later, despite a fare war waged against its |
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| 13 | 14 | | Dallas-Houston route, it turned its first annual profit; it soon |
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| 14 | 15 | | began service to Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley and bought its |
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| 15 | 16 | | fifth Boeing 737; in 1976, it received permission to fly to Austin, |
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| 16 | 17 | | Corpus Christi, El Paso, Lubbock, and Midland, and by the end of the |
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| 17 | 18 | | following year, it owned a fleet of ten 737s; and |
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| 18 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Airline deregulation in 1979 allowed Southwest to |
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| 19 | 20 | | begin an era of rapid expansion, although the Wright Amendment |
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| 20 | 21 | | limited flights from its Dallas Love Field airport hub to states |
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| 21 | 22 | | bordering Texas; as the carrier grew, it maintained its core values |
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| 22 | 23 | | of low fares and good customer service; it added its 60th |
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| 23 | 24 | | destination in 2003, and that year, it flew over 65 million |
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| 24 | 25 | | passengers; in the middle of the decade, it launched service in |
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| 25 | 26 | | Denver, Colorado, which became an important base of operations; it |
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| 26 | 27 | | also finally won the ability to offer connecting and one-stop |
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| 27 | 28 | | direct flights from Dallas Love Field across its entire system; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, In 2011, Southwest closed on its acquisition of |
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| 29 | 30 | | rival AirTran Airways and also received permission from the U.S. |
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| 30 | 31 | | Department of Transportation to fly internationally; it has |
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| 31 | 32 | | continued to move into new markets, including Central America, the |
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| 32 | 33 | | Caribbean, and in 2019, Hawaii; and |
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| 33 | 34 | | WHEREAS, Since its inception, Southwest has contributed to |
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| 34 | 35 | | the economic prosperity of the Lone Star State, and today, as one of |
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| 35 | 36 | | the nation's largest airlines, it plays an increasingly significant |
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| 36 | 37 | | role as a valued corporate citizen; now, therefore, be it |
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| 37 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 38 | 39 | | hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of Southwest Airlines and |
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| 39 | 40 | | extend to all those associated with the company sincere best wishes |
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| 40 | 41 | | for continued success; and, be it further |
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| 41 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 42 | 43 | | prepared for the corporation as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 43 | 44 | | Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |
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