LoneStarMike
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I have a couple of questions regarding the Love Field Master Plan and Southwest gate facilities at DAL..
The Dallas Love Field Master Plan addresses the infratructure needs for the airport. There are two phases.
Phase 1 includes:
1. Open three East Concourse gates.
2. Demolish remainder of East Concourse.
3. Construct new cargo building.
4. Demolish existing cargo building.
5. Develop Commercial Vehicle Lot for taxi pick-ups and all buses and vans.
6. Add a new pedestrian bridge from the garage to the current main terminal
area and remove the existing bridge.
7. Close and reconstruct the lower level curb front road.
8. Reconfigure lanes at the arrivals area to a final two-curb arrangement, except with temporary connections from the upper level road.
I believe items 1, 2 and 6 have been completed. I don't know the status of the other work in Phase 1. Did Southwest ever start construction of the new cargo facility?
Phase 2 includes:
1. Relocate/replace Southwest Airlines Training Facility.
2. Redevelop North Concourse.
3. Relocate traffic to new outer curb lanes, close and lower upper level curb
lanes.
4. Relocate traffic to completed curb roads and vacate commercial vehicle lot.
5. Demolish vacant east ticket wing and expand curb front to final configuration.
6. Add DART station, if applicable.
7. Construct new ticketing and bag claim wing.
8. Construct new pedestrian walkway from parking garage to new ticketing/bag
claim
9. Begin improvements to Cedar Springs/Mockingbird intersection.
Regarding redevelopment of the North Concourse, aren't there some buildings constructed after DFW opened that obstruct those gates? I was thinking it was a facility for Provisioning or something like that. What, if anything would have to be torn down to gain ramp access to those gates?
Elsewhere in the master plan, it mentioned that Southwest's lease on its 14 West Concourse gates will expire December 16, 2006. Although I don't think Southwest will ever leave Love Field entirely (at least I hope they don't), I wonder if they might let some of their gates go when they come up for renewal if the Wright Amendment is still in place at that time?
Pre 9/11 they had 139 daily departures at Love Field. With the closing of IAH, DAL will be down to 117 departures. If they continue to drop a few flights here and there over the next 18 months, I could see them getting rid of 3 or 4 gates.
In other Wright Amendment news, there was a recent Tampa Tribune article that mentioned Southwest had turned to Tampa, Florida for help.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority is considering giving its support to Southwest Airlines' quest to repeal a federal amendment so it can fly nonstop between Dallas Love Field and Tampa.
The issue appears to be a no-brainer from Tampa's end, where Southwest is Tampa International Airport's No. 1 carrier and construction is nearly complete on a new Airside C that primarily will serve the Dallas-based airline.
The $134 million airside is expected to open in mid-April.
``If the act is repealed, it would allow Southwest to fly anywhere in the United States from Love Field, including Tampa,´´ TIA Director Louis Miller said Thursday.
That could increase competition among carriers and lower air fares on the Tampa-Dallas route, Miller said. Those fares generally rank between the second- and fourth- most expensive among major destinations served from Tampa because of the dominance that American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have enjoyed on the route.
The average one-way fare between Tampa and Dallas in the first quarter of 2004 was $183.
The fare is surpassed only by those for flights serving Tampa and Cincinnati, Memphis, Tenn., and San Francisco, among major destinations.
Southwest is precluded from flying from its headquarters at Dallas Love Field to states beyond those contiguous to Texas, plus Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi, by The Wright Act.
The law is named after sponsor Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat and former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The politically inspired federal legislation was enacted in 1979 to protect then-new Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which is less convenient to people in Dallas than Love Field.
Southwest declined an incentive-laden offer to move some of its flights to Dallas- Fort Worth International.
Now that Delta has reduced its flights, Southwest has said that it sees a greater opportunity for long-distance growth from Dallas Love Field, Miller said.
The airline has asked the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority for its support in backing a legislative sponsor to repeal the act.
Dallas-Fort Worth International also has sought Tampa's support for maintaining the act, especially since Delta last month reduced its daily departures there from 258 to 21 and the airport has been left with empty gates.
The aviation authority is expected to decide at its monthly meeting in March whether to support the big Texas airport or Southwest on The Wright Amendment issue.
Source
The rest of the article talks about the opening of the new Airside C.
It will be interesting to see who they end up supporting. I suspect Southwest is working behind the scenes trying to drum up support from other communities they currently serve.
LoneStarMike
The Dallas Love Field Master Plan addresses the infratructure needs for the airport. There are two phases.
Phase 1 includes:
1. Open three East Concourse gates.
2. Demolish remainder of East Concourse.
3. Construct new cargo building.
4. Demolish existing cargo building.
5. Develop Commercial Vehicle Lot for taxi pick-ups and all buses and vans.
6. Add a new pedestrian bridge from the garage to the current main terminal
area and remove the existing bridge.
7. Close and reconstruct the lower level curb front road.
8. Reconfigure lanes at the arrivals area to a final two-curb arrangement, except with temporary connections from the upper level road.
I believe items 1, 2 and 6 have been completed. I don't know the status of the other work in Phase 1. Did Southwest ever start construction of the new cargo facility?
Phase 2 includes:
1. Relocate/replace Southwest Airlines Training Facility.
2. Redevelop North Concourse.
3. Relocate traffic to new outer curb lanes, close and lower upper level curb
lanes.
4. Relocate traffic to completed curb roads and vacate commercial vehicle lot.
5. Demolish vacant east ticket wing and expand curb front to final configuration.
6. Add DART station, if applicable.
7. Construct new ticketing and bag claim wing.
8. Construct new pedestrian walkway from parking garage to new ticketing/bag
claim
9. Begin improvements to Cedar Springs/Mockingbird intersection.
Regarding redevelopment of the North Concourse, aren't there some buildings constructed after DFW opened that obstruct those gates? I was thinking it was a facility for Provisioning or something like that. What, if anything would have to be torn down to gain ramp access to those gates?
Elsewhere in the master plan, it mentioned that Southwest's lease on its 14 West Concourse gates will expire December 16, 2006. Although I don't think Southwest will ever leave Love Field entirely (at least I hope they don't), I wonder if they might let some of their gates go when they come up for renewal if the Wright Amendment is still in place at that time?
Pre 9/11 they had 139 daily departures at Love Field. With the closing of IAH, DAL will be down to 117 departures. If they continue to drop a few flights here and there over the next 18 months, I could see them getting rid of 3 or 4 gates.
In other Wright Amendment news, there was a recent Tampa Tribune article that mentioned Southwest had turned to Tampa, Florida for help.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority is considering giving its support to Southwest Airlines' quest to repeal a federal amendment so it can fly nonstop between Dallas Love Field and Tampa.
The issue appears to be a no-brainer from Tampa's end, where Southwest is Tampa International Airport's No. 1 carrier and construction is nearly complete on a new Airside C that primarily will serve the Dallas-based airline.
The $134 million airside is expected to open in mid-April.
``If the act is repealed, it would allow Southwest to fly anywhere in the United States from Love Field, including Tampa,´´ TIA Director Louis Miller said Thursday.
That could increase competition among carriers and lower air fares on the Tampa-Dallas route, Miller said. Those fares generally rank between the second- and fourth- most expensive among major destinations served from Tampa because of the dominance that American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have enjoyed on the route.
The average one-way fare between Tampa and Dallas in the first quarter of 2004 was $183.
The fare is surpassed only by those for flights serving Tampa and Cincinnati, Memphis, Tenn., and San Francisco, among major destinations.
Southwest is precluded from flying from its headquarters at Dallas Love Field to states beyond those contiguous to Texas, plus Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi, by The Wright Act.
The law is named after sponsor Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat and former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The politically inspired federal legislation was enacted in 1979 to protect then-new Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which is less convenient to people in Dallas than Love Field.
Southwest declined an incentive-laden offer to move some of its flights to Dallas- Fort Worth International.
Now that Delta has reduced its flights, Southwest has said that it sees a greater opportunity for long-distance growth from Dallas Love Field, Miller said.
The airline has asked the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority for its support in backing a legislative sponsor to repeal the act.
Dallas-Fort Worth International also has sought Tampa's support for maintaining the act, especially since Delta last month reduced its daily departures there from 258 to 21 and the airport has been left with empty gates.
The aviation authority is expected to decide at its monthly meeting in March whether to support the big Texas airport or Southwest on The Wright Amendment issue.
Source
The rest of the article talks about the opening of the new Airside C.
It will be interesting to see who they end up supporting. I suspect Southwest is working behind the scenes trying to drum up support from other communities they currently serve.
LoneStarMike
