Southwest thrives, but Love's on wane
Dallas-based carrier grows despite lack of home-field advantage
09:03 AM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2003
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Once so important that Southwest Airlines waged a decade-long legal battle to stay there, Dallas Love Field is developing a new status to the low-fare carrier:
Afterthought.
For the first time in the airline's 32-year history, Southwest's home field has fallen out of its top 10 airports, as measured by revenue.
Love Field is still Southwest's headquarters, but it's long been surpassed by Phoenix, Las Vegas and even Baltimore in the number of takeoffs, landings and passengers carried. In a few years, it's expected to fall out of the top 10 altogether in daily departures.
And it's not even Southwest's No. 1 airport in Texas. That honor goes to Hobby Airport, in Houston.
Love Field's supporting role in the Southwest system surprises many Dallas travelers, said Ron Ricks, Southwest's vice president for governmental affairs.
"Most people around here don't know we have 180 flights a day from Phoenix, which is 50 more per day than we have from Dallas," Mr. Ricks said. "It's the order of magnitude that takes them by surprise."
It's not that Love Field isn't a thriving airport, but rather that Southwest has so many better opportunities elsewhere that are fueling its growth.
"We want to go to the cities that welcome and desire our service, and we've got a lot out there," said Mr. Ricks. "Dallas is simply being overtaken by our faster-growing cities around the country."
That wasn't always the case. Southwest fought hard to stay at Love, where it began service in 1971 to just two cities, Houston and San Antonio.
Other airlines had signed an agreement in 1968 to move to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which opened six years later. Southwest didn't even exist in '68, but the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and American Airlines later sued to try to make it abandon Love, too.
The issue wasn't settled until 1979, when the Wright amendment, which limits cities served by flights from Love, was passed.
In the last few years, Southwest has been busy on other fronts, connecting the dots among cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas to its newest airports on the East Coast, such as Baltimore/Washington International and Islip, N.Y.
"The awareness that we are an airline that flies coast-to-coast and border-to-border is growing, even for those who do most of their flying from Dallas," Mr. Ricks said.
Fliers unhappy about Love Field's dwindling clout blame the Wright amendment, which was named for former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Fort Worth, and was intended to protect Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from competition.
Planes with fewer than 56 seats can fly anywhere from Love, but under the Wright amendment, Southwest's Boeing 737s can fly from Love only to cities in Texas and the four bordering states. The Shelby amendment, added in 1997, expanded Southwest's reach to Mississippi, Kansas and Alabama.
Love Field advocates say they've long been frustrated that their favorite airport is legally hogtied.
"Dallas is getting nothing from its having the largest carrier in the nation," said David Rucker, a longtime Wright amendment opponent in Dallas.
Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other carrier in May, the last month for which such figures are available. It's the first low-fare carrier to reach that distinction.
Fastest growth
With dozens of new planes scheduled for delivery next year, Southwest is growing faster than any other major carrier. Eventually, it will consistently carry more passengers than any other airline, analysts project.
With almost no prospect of the Wright amendment being altered, much less repealed, Love Field traffic will be stagnant for the next decade, according to the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.
"Why would anyone want to go into a small, congested airport where there's not going to be any growth and when D/FW [Airport] is just a short drive from basically anywhere in Dallas?" said the consulting group's founder, Mike Boyd. "D/FW is just going to be a far more efficient airport."
Mr. Rucker and others argue that the city of Dallas is missing out on abundant source of tax revenue and that area travelers are being cheated out of lower airfares because of the Wright amendment.
Mr. Ricks points out that the carrier's growth elsewhere does add tax dollars to Dallas, even if the additional flights don't come from Love Field. Every plane Southwest adds to its fleet is taxed here, he said, no matter where it's deployed.
The company's headquarters and maintenance operations, which employ 6,200 people, add to the tax bonanza. Southwest is Dallas' No. 5 taxpayer, contributing $14 million in property taxes last year.
Although Southwest isn't delighted with the Wright amendment, it's not fighting it and has no plans to start a campaign against it, despite frequent pleas from customers.
"We could spend our time fighting with various parties with respect to Love Field or we can develop innumerable growth opportunities throughout the country," Mr. Ricks said.
Even a Love Field without the Wright amendment would not challenge Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Mr. Boyd said. "I don't think it would change a lot there," he said.
Mr. Ricks agrees in part, noting that Love Field's master plan limits Southwest's takeoffs and gates. Southwest serves 17 cities from Love Field, where it carries more than 95 percent of all traffic.
Even without the amendment, "it's unlikely you'd have a substantial increase in service because of the facility constraints we have," Mr. Ricks said.
Advocates such as Mr. Rucker want to chip away at the law by allowing a concept of "through-ticketing." Now, a passenger who wants to fly from Love Field to Los Angeles on Southwest has to buy one ticket – to Albuquerque, N.M., say – and then a second one from that city to Los Angeles.
"Through-ticketing" would allow Southwest to sell a single ticket for the same trip that requires a change of planes in a Wright amendment city. Removal of the two-ticket hurdle probably would increase traffic from Love Field.
Southwest likes the idea in concept but won't be making an effort to bring it to life, Mr. Ricks said.
One of the reasons for Love Field's dim growth outlook beyond Southwest is that it doesn't sell itself, said Terry Mitchell, assistant director of aviation for the city of Dallas, which runs the place.
"We're not able to market Love Field ourselves," Mr. Mitchell said.
As part of the bond financing that created D/FW, Dallas agreed not to actively recruit new airlines to Love Field. "The airlines have to come to us," he said.
Smaller planes
As the airline industry slowly recovers after Sept. 11, 2001, some other carriers might consider adding service at Love Field.
Airlines are using more and more small 50-seat jets to serve middle-size markets. Those regional planes aren't subject to Wright amendment rules, allowing them to fly easily to lots of East Coast destinations. Major airlines are adding dozens of the planes each month.
Continental Airlines already has flights from Love Field to Houston Intercontinental Airport. Delta Air Lines dropped similar service from Love to Atlanta in June.
Love Field lost nearly 16 percent of its passenger traffic in 2002 compared with 2001, dropping it to No. 141 in the world in terms of passenger traffic, right behind the airports in Santiago, Chile, and Albuquerque.
The traffic slowdown has some worried about the airport's finances. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday lowered its rankings on Love Field's recently sold revenue bonds one notch to A-minus because of concerns that the airport wasn't generating enough revenue.
It's not as if Love Field doesn't have strong points. It's nestled in one of the nation's top five air markets and taps into a steady stream of business fliers who need to get around Texas.
Southwest says it's a low-cost place to operate, thanks to its efficient schedule. A parking garage that opened in March added 1,600 spaces to ease a crowding problem.
While other airports have struggled with new security measures required by the Transportation Security Administration, Love Field hasn't had many problems, and backups are few.
"The security setup there is a model for the rest of our airports," Mr. Ricks said. "Even at peak travel times, it's a downright pleasurable experience compared with other airports around the country."
E-mail [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/business/stories/082803dnbussouthwestlove.c449.html
Dallas-based carrier grows despite lack of home-field advantage
09:03 AM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2003
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Once so important that Southwest Airlines waged a decade-long legal battle to stay there, Dallas Love Field is developing a new status to the low-fare carrier:
Afterthought.
For the first time in the airline's 32-year history, Southwest's home field has fallen out of its top 10 airports, as measured by revenue.
Love Field is still Southwest's headquarters, but it's long been surpassed by Phoenix, Las Vegas and even Baltimore in the number of takeoffs, landings and passengers carried. In a few years, it's expected to fall out of the top 10 altogether in daily departures.
And it's not even Southwest's No. 1 airport in Texas. That honor goes to Hobby Airport, in Houston.
Love Field's supporting role in the Southwest system surprises many Dallas travelers, said Ron Ricks, Southwest's vice president for governmental affairs.
"Most people around here don't know we have 180 flights a day from Phoenix, which is 50 more per day than we have from Dallas," Mr. Ricks said. "It's the order of magnitude that takes them by surprise."
It's not that Love Field isn't a thriving airport, but rather that Southwest has so many better opportunities elsewhere that are fueling its growth.
"We want to go to the cities that welcome and desire our service, and we've got a lot out there," said Mr. Ricks. "Dallas is simply being overtaken by our faster-growing cities around the country."
That wasn't always the case. Southwest fought hard to stay at Love, where it began service in 1971 to just two cities, Houston and San Antonio.
Other airlines had signed an agreement in 1968 to move to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which opened six years later. Southwest didn't even exist in '68, but the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and American Airlines later sued to try to make it abandon Love, too.
The issue wasn't settled until 1979, when the Wright amendment, which limits cities served by flights from Love, was passed.
In the last few years, Southwest has been busy on other fronts, connecting the dots among cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas to its newest airports on the East Coast, such as Baltimore/Washington International and Islip, N.Y.
"The awareness that we are an airline that flies coast-to-coast and border-to-border is growing, even for those who do most of their flying from Dallas," Mr. Ricks said.
Fliers unhappy about Love Field's dwindling clout blame the Wright amendment, which was named for former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Fort Worth, and was intended to protect Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from competition.
Planes with fewer than 56 seats can fly anywhere from Love, but under the Wright amendment, Southwest's Boeing 737s can fly from Love only to cities in Texas and the four bordering states. The Shelby amendment, added in 1997, expanded Southwest's reach to Mississippi, Kansas and Alabama.
Love Field advocates say they've long been frustrated that their favorite airport is legally hogtied.
"Dallas is getting nothing from its having the largest carrier in the nation," said David Rucker, a longtime Wright amendment opponent in Dallas.
Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other carrier in May, the last month for which such figures are available. It's the first low-fare carrier to reach that distinction.
Fastest growth
With dozens of new planes scheduled for delivery next year, Southwest is growing faster than any other major carrier. Eventually, it will consistently carry more passengers than any other airline, analysts project.
With almost no prospect of the Wright amendment being altered, much less repealed, Love Field traffic will be stagnant for the next decade, according to the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.
"Why would anyone want to go into a small, congested airport where there's not going to be any growth and when D/FW [Airport] is just a short drive from basically anywhere in Dallas?" said the consulting group's founder, Mike Boyd. "D/FW is just going to be a far more efficient airport."
Mr. Rucker and others argue that the city of Dallas is missing out on abundant source of tax revenue and that area travelers are being cheated out of lower airfares because of the Wright amendment.
Mr. Ricks points out that the carrier's growth elsewhere does add tax dollars to Dallas, even if the additional flights don't come from Love Field. Every plane Southwest adds to its fleet is taxed here, he said, no matter where it's deployed.
The company's headquarters and maintenance operations, which employ 6,200 people, add to the tax bonanza. Southwest is Dallas' No. 5 taxpayer, contributing $14 million in property taxes last year.
Although Southwest isn't delighted with the Wright amendment, it's not fighting it and has no plans to start a campaign against it, despite frequent pleas from customers.
"We could spend our time fighting with various parties with respect to Love Field or we can develop innumerable growth opportunities throughout the country," Mr. Ricks said.
Even a Love Field without the Wright amendment would not challenge Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Mr. Boyd said. "I don't think it would change a lot there," he said.
Mr. Ricks agrees in part, noting that Love Field's master plan limits Southwest's takeoffs and gates. Southwest serves 17 cities from Love Field, where it carries more than 95 percent of all traffic.
Even without the amendment, "it's unlikely you'd have a substantial increase in service because of the facility constraints we have," Mr. Ricks said.
Advocates such as Mr. Rucker want to chip away at the law by allowing a concept of "through-ticketing." Now, a passenger who wants to fly from Love Field to Los Angeles on Southwest has to buy one ticket – to Albuquerque, N.M., say – and then a second one from that city to Los Angeles.
"Through-ticketing" would allow Southwest to sell a single ticket for the same trip that requires a change of planes in a Wright amendment city. Removal of the two-ticket hurdle probably would increase traffic from Love Field.
Southwest likes the idea in concept but won't be making an effort to bring it to life, Mr. Ricks said.
One of the reasons for Love Field's dim growth outlook beyond Southwest is that it doesn't sell itself, said Terry Mitchell, assistant director of aviation for the city of Dallas, which runs the place.
"We're not able to market Love Field ourselves," Mr. Mitchell said.
As part of the bond financing that created D/FW, Dallas agreed not to actively recruit new airlines to Love Field. "The airlines have to come to us," he said.
Smaller planes
As the airline industry slowly recovers after Sept. 11, 2001, some other carriers might consider adding service at Love Field.
Airlines are using more and more small 50-seat jets to serve middle-size markets. Those regional planes aren't subject to Wright amendment rules, allowing them to fly easily to lots of East Coast destinations. Major airlines are adding dozens of the planes each month.
Continental Airlines already has flights from Love Field to Houston Intercontinental Airport. Delta Air Lines dropped similar service from Love to Atlanta in June.
Love Field lost nearly 16 percent of its passenger traffic in 2002 compared with 2001, dropping it to No. 141 in the world in terms of passenger traffic, right behind the airports in Santiago, Chile, and Albuquerque.
The traffic slowdown has some worried about the airport's finances. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday lowered its rankings on Love Field's recently sold revenue bonds one notch to A-minus because of concerns that the airport wasn't generating enough revenue.
It's not as if Love Field doesn't have strong points. It's nestled in one of the nation's top five air markets and taps into a steady stream of business fliers who need to get around Texas.
Southwest says it's a low-cost place to operate, thanks to its efficient schedule. A parking garage that opened in March added 1,600 spaces to ease a crowding problem.
While other airports have struggled with new security measures required by the Transportation Security Administration, Love Field hasn't had many problems, and backups are few.
"The security setup there is a model for the rest of our airports," Mr. Ricks said. "Even at peak travel times, it's a downright pleasurable experience compared with other airports around the country."
E-mail [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/business/stories/082803dnbussouthwestlove.c449.html
