lowecur
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2003
- Posts
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I guess FL is still talking to them, but I don't see any long term leases coming out of the deal. DFW still has it's sites set on SWA. I would look for the big cash move pkg soon, including a huge travel bank offer from the local corps (not AMR
).
Spirit and B6 could start service but on a limited basis. I don't see either of them offering to take 10 or more gates.
Posted on Sat, Jan. 22, 2005
AirTran might expand at D/FW
By Bryon Okada and Trebor Banstetter
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
D/FW AIRPORT - Several airlines have expressed interest in accepting a lucrative financial incentive package to become the next big tenant at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport's Terminal E, replacing Delta Air Lines, the airport said Friday.
A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed Friday that AirTran Airways, which already serves D/FW, is one of the carriers that has agreed to talk with the airport about the incentives.
Several other carriers, including Southwest, JetBlue, America West and Frontier, aren't interested, their representatives said in interviews.
Citing competitive reasons, D/FW officials refused to identify interested carriers that responded before the airport's Friday-evening deadline or to say how many there are.
Kevin Cox, D/FW's chief operating officer, said he expects any announcement on an agreement to come "not in days, but months." That's for sure. It will take that long to put the cash package offer together including the travel bank.
D/FW officials emphasized that a show of interest was not binding.
"We see this as a positive first step in filling these gates, and we look forward to more discussions with these airlines," Jeff Fegan, D/FW's chief executive, said in a statement. "Although there is no guarantee, we hope that these discussions ultimately lead to a formal lease agreement with one or multiple carriers."
AirTran, based in Orlando, Fla., is the largest low-fare airline at D/FW and has grown steadily during the past 18 months. It serves six cities nonstop from two gates at D/FW and holds a lease on two more gates.
AirTran is planning substantial growth in 2005 and plans to add 19 airplanes to its fleet. Kevin Healy, AirTran's vice president of planning, said in an interview last week that the carrier would like to expand further at D/FW, especially since recent plans to build a hub in Chicago fell apart.
"D/FW has been a good market for us," he said.
This month, D/FW offered the incentive package -- worth $10 million to $22 million -- to 45 airlines in exchange for leasing 10 to 22 gates in Terminal E through 2009. By the end of the month, Delta, which is reducing service at D/FW to just 21 daily flights, will leave 22 gates empty in Terminal E.
Although AirTran is interested, that doesn't necessarily mean the carrier would take at least 10 gates, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said.
Airport and airline officials will meet during the next several weeks to formalize the number of gates, type of service and destination cities each carrier is interested in, Cox said.
Besides AirTran, it was unclear which other airlines were interested in pursuing the incentives. Given the industry's turmoil, none of the major hub carriers are planning any substantial domestic growth in 2005 -- and several are cutting back.
Low-fare airlines are the only carriers that have announced plans to expand this year.
Executives with Dallas-based Southwest maintained Friday that D/FW does not fit the airline's business model and that the airline would instead pursue expanding at Dallas Love Field.
"We're best served by staying at Love Field, especially an unfettered Love Field," said Ginger Hardage, a Southwest spokeswoman.
Late last year, Southwest executives began a campaign to overturn the Wright Amendment, a 25-year-old federal law that limits flights at Love to the states that border Texas, as well as Kansas, Alabama and Mississippi.
In an investment report last year, airline analyst Gary Chase of Lehman Bros. speculated that Southwest could realize more than $500 million in revenue from serving D/FW. Probably the same amount if the WA is gutted, but that ain't gonna happen.
D/FW "is a compelling opportunity for any solid low-fare carrier," Chase wrote. "No low-fare carrier will find [D/FW] as compelling as Southwest, given that the company is already one of two hometown airlines in the city."
Southwest officials, however, maintain that the airport would not fit its lean business model.
"D/FW was not designed for Southwest's unique, nonhub operating style of high-frequency, point-to-point flights," company executives said in a statement Friday. And I suppose PHL is? More SWA posturing for the deal .
Cox said the airport would still consider an offer from Southwest to occupy gates under the incentives, even though the deadline has passed.
"But I've had personal conversations with Southwest, and they're not interested," he said.
).Spirit and B6 could start service but on a limited basis. I don't see either of them offering to take 10 or more gates.
Posted on Sat, Jan. 22, 2005
AirTran might expand at D/FW
By Bryon Okada and Trebor Banstetter
Star-Telegram Staff Writers
D/FW AIRPORT - Several airlines have expressed interest in accepting a lucrative financial incentive package to become the next big tenant at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport's Terminal E, replacing Delta Air Lines, the airport said Friday.
A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed Friday that AirTran Airways, which already serves D/FW, is one of the carriers that has agreed to talk with the airport about the incentives.
Several other carriers, including Southwest, JetBlue, America West and Frontier, aren't interested, their representatives said in interviews.
Citing competitive reasons, D/FW officials refused to identify interested carriers that responded before the airport's Friday-evening deadline or to say how many there are.
Kevin Cox, D/FW's chief operating officer, said he expects any announcement on an agreement to come "not in days, but months." That's for sure. It will take that long to put the cash package offer together including the travel bank.
D/FW officials emphasized that a show of interest was not binding.
"We see this as a positive first step in filling these gates, and we look forward to more discussions with these airlines," Jeff Fegan, D/FW's chief executive, said in a statement. "Although there is no guarantee, we hope that these discussions ultimately lead to a formal lease agreement with one or multiple carriers."
AirTran, based in Orlando, Fla., is the largest low-fare airline at D/FW and has grown steadily during the past 18 months. It serves six cities nonstop from two gates at D/FW and holds a lease on two more gates.
AirTran is planning substantial growth in 2005 and plans to add 19 airplanes to its fleet. Kevin Healy, AirTran's vice president of planning, said in an interview last week that the carrier would like to expand further at D/FW, especially since recent plans to build a hub in Chicago fell apart.
"D/FW has been a good market for us," he said.
This month, D/FW offered the incentive package -- worth $10 million to $22 million -- to 45 airlines in exchange for leasing 10 to 22 gates in Terminal E through 2009. By the end of the month, Delta, which is reducing service at D/FW to just 21 daily flights, will leave 22 gates empty in Terminal E.
Although AirTran is interested, that doesn't necessarily mean the carrier would take at least 10 gates, the source with knowledge of the negotiations said.
Airport and airline officials will meet during the next several weeks to formalize the number of gates, type of service and destination cities each carrier is interested in, Cox said.
Besides AirTran, it was unclear which other airlines were interested in pursuing the incentives. Given the industry's turmoil, none of the major hub carriers are planning any substantial domestic growth in 2005 -- and several are cutting back.
Low-fare airlines are the only carriers that have announced plans to expand this year.
Executives with Dallas-based Southwest maintained Friday that D/FW does not fit the airline's business model and that the airline would instead pursue expanding at Dallas Love Field.
"We're best served by staying at Love Field, especially an unfettered Love Field," said Ginger Hardage, a Southwest spokeswoman.
Late last year, Southwest executives began a campaign to overturn the Wright Amendment, a 25-year-old federal law that limits flights at Love to the states that border Texas, as well as Kansas, Alabama and Mississippi.
In an investment report last year, airline analyst Gary Chase of Lehman Bros. speculated that Southwest could realize more than $500 million in revenue from serving D/FW. Probably the same amount if the WA is gutted, but that ain't gonna happen.
D/FW "is a compelling opportunity for any solid low-fare carrier," Chase wrote. "No low-fare carrier will find [D/FW] as compelling as Southwest, given that the company is already one of two hometown airlines in the city."
Southwest officials, however, maintain that the airport would not fit its lean business model.
"D/FW was not designed for Southwest's unique, nonhub operating style of high-frequency, point-to-point flights," company executives said in a statement Friday. And I suppose PHL is? More SWA posturing for the deal
.Cox said the airport would still consider an offer from Southwest to occupy gates under the incentives, even though the deadline has passed.
"But I've had personal conversations with Southwest, and they're not interested," he said.
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