enigma
good ol boy
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
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http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/12918004.htm
Posted on Sun, Oct. 16, 2005
Why airlines avoid D/FW
[SIZE=-1]By MITCHELL SCHNURMAN[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER[/SIZE]
It's not easy to defend the Wright Amendment, considering that it limits competition, stifles growth and costs consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
But Dallas/Fort Worth Airport has found a way to frame the debate that seems reasonable, almost persuasive.
"Southwest has the freedom to fly anywhere from DFW," the ads proclaim.
True enough, but so does every other airline. And like Southwest, plenty are passing on the invitation, despite relentless marketing and big-dollar incentives.
Last week, JetBlue announced new service to Austin, rejecting repeated pleas from D/FW. Delta bailed out in January, closing most of its hub after losing money in nine of the previous 12 years.
AirTran was expected to become a big discounter here after Delta departed, but it has grown less than hoped and abandoned plans to add two routes.
Then there's Southwest, the target of a multiprong, multimedia, multimonth campaign by the airport and local politicians. Southwest hasn't budged. It's not coming.
So what's the problem at D/FW?
"We don't believe there is a problem," D/FW executive Kevin Cox said last week, ticking off the new service added in the past year.
We'll get to D/FW's highlights and lowlights later, but not even the spirited Cox is saying the airport looks good these days. Twenty-two gates are vacant, others are underutilized, passenger growth has trailed the national average, and the secretary of the D/FW board has fretted publicly about the $3.7 billion debt.
The only way to make these issues go away is to get more flights and more passengers, and to make better use of D/FW's pricey public infrastructure.
The Wright debate, heating up again in Washington, is primarily a consumer issue. But it also forces us to consider whether the law helps or hurts D/FW's prospects.
It's not a clear call. At first blush, opening Dallas Love Field to long-haul flights sounds like a blow to D/FW, because some business would move there. But competition has a way of growing the marketplace, while protectionism tends to shrink it.
In the past year, high fuel costs have been a major impediment to filling D/FW's empty gates. And the Wright fight has chilled some airlines -- not because they fear an unshackled Southwest, but because they'd rather fly to Love than D/FW.
Consider that for a moment. D/FW has almost 10 times the passenger traffic of Love, tons more runway and gate space for expansion, and a spiffy new terminal and people-mover. And Love has become the belle of the ball?
How can that be?
There's an elephant in D/FW's room, and nobody seems to want to talk about it: American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle, have more than 800 daily departures and 84 percent of D/FW passengers.
Any carrier that wants a meaningful piece of the D/FW action has to take it out of American's hide. Good luck.
American's giant network covers about every significant destination, and its frequency swamps the number of flights at many other metropolitan airports combined.
That's great for travelers who covet nonstop connections, but it scares off new entries and keeps existing players from expanding in a big way.
Don't blame American for being a fierce competitor. But don't blame Southwest, either, for not wanting to step into American's cross-hairs.
Asking Southwest to move to D/FW, Southwest founder Herb Kelleher says, is like the spider asking the fly to lunch.
They won't be sharing dessert.
Southwest is strong enough to go head to head with any airline, and it spanks American in more than a few markets. But it didn't become the industry's most profitable carrier by being stupid.
Posted on Sun, Oct. 16, 2005
Why airlines avoid D/FW
[SIZE=-1]By MITCHELL SCHNURMAN[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER[/SIZE]
It's not easy to defend the Wright Amendment, considering that it limits competition, stifles growth and costs consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
But Dallas/Fort Worth Airport has found a way to frame the debate that seems reasonable, almost persuasive.
"Southwest has the freedom to fly anywhere from DFW," the ads proclaim.
True enough, but so does every other airline. And like Southwest, plenty are passing on the invitation, despite relentless marketing and big-dollar incentives.
Last week, JetBlue announced new service to Austin, rejecting repeated pleas from D/FW. Delta bailed out in January, closing most of its hub after losing money in nine of the previous 12 years.
AirTran was expected to become a big discounter here after Delta departed, but it has grown less than hoped and abandoned plans to add two routes.
Then there's Southwest, the target of a multiprong, multimedia, multimonth campaign by the airport and local politicians. Southwest hasn't budged. It's not coming.
So what's the problem at D/FW?
"We don't believe there is a problem," D/FW executive Kevin Cox said last week, ticking off the new service added in the past year.
We'll get to D/FW's highlights and lowlights later, but not even the spirited Cox is saying the airport looks good these days. Twenty-two gates are vacant, others are underutilized, passenger growth has trailed the national average, and the secretary of the D/FW board has fretted publicly about the $3.7 billion debt.
The only way to make these issues go away is to get more flights and more passengers, and to make better use of D/FW's pricey public infrastructure.
The Wright debate, heating up again in Washington, is primarily a consumer issue. But it also forces us to consider whether the law helps or hurts D/FW's prospects.
It's not a clear call. At first blush, opening Dallas Love Field to long-haul flights sounds like a blow to D/FW, because some business would move there. But competition has a way of growing the marketplace, while protectionism tends to shrink it.
In the past year, high fuel costs have been a major impediment to filling D/FW's empty gates. And the Wright fight has chilled some airlines -- not because they fear an unshackled Southwest, but because they'd rather fly to Love than D/FW.
Consider that for a moment. D/FW has almost 10 times the passenger traffic of Love, tons more runway and gate space for expansion, and a spiffy new terminal and people-mover. And Love has become the belle of the ball?
How can that be?
There's an elephant in D/FW's room, and nobody seems to want to talk about it: American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle, have more than 800 daily departures and 84 percent of D/FW passengers.
Any carrier that wants a meaningful piece of the D/FW action has to take it out of American's hide. Good luck.
American's giant network covers about every significant destination, and its frequency swamps the number of flights at many other metropolitan airports combined.
That's great for travelers who covet nonstop connections, but it scares off new entries and keeps existing players from expanding in a big way.
Don't blame American for being a fierce competitor. But don't blame Southwest, either, for not wanting to step into American's cross-hairs.
Asking Southwest to move to D/FW, Southwest founder Herb Kelleher says, is like the spider asking the fly to lunch.
They won't be sharing dessert.
Southwest is strong enough to go head to head with any airline, and it spanks American in more than a few markets. But it didn't become the industry's most profitable carrier by being stupid.