Question Re Aa's Hub Business Model

[Ch. 12]

There are 6 gates in the old "Legend" terminal, but they are only capable of handling older smaller DC9's or RJ's. Anything larger and then you only have 3 gates available for use due to space constraints. There are 26 gates at the main terminal. Of which WN has leases on 21, 14 are in active use. The remaining 7 were used for office and training space. They are also currently blocked on the ramp by employee parking and WN catering storage. CO has two gates in active use. AA has long term leases on 3 gates, but there are no jetbridges up, and there are some major improvements necessary before they could be used by the public.

I go back to the days when Legend was around and they flew, CO flew, AE had regionals, and AA had MD-80's...all of this with essentially the schedule that WN has right now. You are backing up the notion that there are no gates but all of these carriers operated with no problems. It seems to me that room was made then and it obviously would be for any agreement that terminates the WA. To say otherwise is speculation that is not backed up by history nor by statements of officials that would make it happen.



And Jim- most airports do not have one contiguous terminal. What they do is provide shuttles from one to the next. I don't see that as a problem in DAL. And corl is right...are you expecting BA to fly into DAL? I think that the traffic for AA would be online and local. The whole point of opening DAL is to get local traffic...not connections that won't help the Metroplex residents.

 

[eolesen]

Having a single terminal complex is more than just convenient for connecting passengers when you look at the need to provide things for customers like rental cars, food, shops, parking, taxi stands, etc or the more mundane things like access roads, utilities, police/fire/EMS, etc.

Even at airports where you may have two buildings, there's still a degree of that infrastructure which is shared.

Re-opening the Lemon would mean having to duplicate all of that for what amounts to a four gate terminal. It was a stupid idea to begin with, and one forced by WN because they wouldn't provide gate space when Legend started working on their business plan.

Also, I seem to recall reading that if the Lemon is squashed, the master plan has provisions for adding six gates at the main terminal between AA and CO's leaseholds.

 

[FWAAA]

If the Wright Amendment is repealed, the Master Plan should be deemed void. 32 gate limit? Get serious.

That may be the only place where I agree with AA on the WA issue.

Pre-DFW, DAL had about 70 gates. Repeal the WA limits, and let construction begin. B)

 

[corl737]

If the Wright Amendment is repealed, the Master Plan should be deemed void. 32 gate limit? Get serious.

I agree that the Master Plan probably will be altered if the Wright Amendment is repealed. However, getting any modifications put into effect within the next 20 years won't likely happen. I'd expect every attempt to expand beyond the current agreement* will be tied up in court by its signatories. Thus, for practical purposes, what you see is what you get for the forseeable future.

Also, please remember that unlike DFW, nearly 50% of Love Field's traffic is general aviation. This component reduces the number of air carrier flights the airport can handle. Under the fair access provisions of the law you cannot simply ignore them to make way for MD80s or whatever. Thus the statements claiming that over 200 flights/day will be shifted to Love from DFW do not refelect the reality of Love Field's capacity for air carrier operations. The 32 gate limit would enable a lilttle less than 300 airline flights/day which, when combined with the historical average of around 300 GA flts/day yields the capacity ceiling of the runways contained in the Master Plan. (I didn't have time to look up the exact numbers but relied on memory. You can get the actual numbers using the link at the bottom of this post.)

*I intentionally differentiate between the "Love Field Agreement" and the "Master Plan." The Master Plan -- a document submitted to and approved by the FAA -- was developed based on a collective agreement by parties with a vested interest in the operation of Love Field.

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Click this link to read the current Love Field Master Plan.

 

[corl737]

It was a stupid idea to begin with, and one forced by WN because they wouldn't provide gate space when Legend started working on their business plan.

The Love Field Competition Plan (View it here*) is the governing document regarding the allocation of gate space when new entrants arrive. If Southwest Airlines' contract required them to give up space they would have had no choice. Similarly, American Airlines' had 3 unused gates in the east concourse that they were under no obligation to turn over because they had negotiated an exclusive use lease. Thus, the few available "common use" gates were inadequate to meet what Legend wanted. Rather than settle for reduced capacity they opted to build their own facility.

There is no legal requirement for an airport to incur new debt to build or even remodel facilites to accomodate new entrants. They must only assure that the available space is distributed. This is why growing airports only give "exclusive use" leases containing use-it-or-lose-it provisions.

*The Competition Plan shown on the Love Field website is the current document. The actual document in force in 1997 when Legend proposed starting service is unavailable on the web. You can read the historical document by going to the Love Field Airport Administration office and looking at their archives.

 

[eolesen]

Don't overlook the fact that AA's leasehold was still designated as office use at the time Legend was looking for space. Technically, I believe the city council still has yet to approve them for use as gates, even though they're mentioned in the master plan.