Southwest Airlines’ “Hot Pants” and “Love Potions” (1971)

Southwest Airlines made the cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology just three months after it began flying between Dallas-Houston and Dallas-San Antonio. Our September 13, 1971 cover features a Southwest Boeing 737-200. Unfortunately, our editors did not think the upstart Texas airline warranted any more coverage – there was no article to accompany the cover photo. But a contents page description of the photo noted that “Southwest offers quick check-in, stewardesses in hot pants and drinks called “love potions.” Braniff and Texas International reduced their fares on these routes to match Southwest’s $20 one-way tariff.”  

The lead air transport news in that issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology was about three proposed airline mergers” Northwest/National, American/Western and Delta/Northeast. “Some views are that the National/Northwest plan foretells an acceleration of the merger snowball, perhaps resulting in a trunkline industry with only two or three carriers, compared with the current 11,” wrote Aviation Week’s Harold D. Watkins.

In fact, the consolidation of the U.S. industry consolidation would take place over decades. And neither Watkins or most of our readers probably could have imagined in 1971 that one of the largest U.S. airlines in 2015 would be that little upstart on the cover.

We did write a little bit more about Southwest 10 months later when the carrier began offering $10 fares. 

► Read the July 3, 1972 report on Southwest's $10 fares.

► Aviation Week is approaching its 100th anniversary in 2016. In a series of blogs, our editors highlight editorial content from the magazine's long and rich history, including viewpoints from the industry's most iconic names and stories that have helped change the shape of the industry.