Originally posted by soda72
I think southwest controls the majority of the gates at Love field... American Airlines doesn't have a chance, unless they can open additional gates a Love field... Other carriers already there, won't give those gates up for free...
American does have gates there, have had for some time. They don't fly out of there because of the Wright Amendment and because a majority of their business is from DFW. They've already stated that if the Wright Amendment gets repealed, they'll reopen their gates and start service from there again.
Southwest believes that the Amendment is denying them business and that American Airlines is abusing a monoply at DFW. They feel that American is only lobbying to keep the Amendment active so they won't have to compete with Southwest, handcuffing the airline to local airspace.
The fact is, American
and DFW, as well as the city of Fort Worth, are all lobbyists for the Amendment. Residents of Dallas who live near Love are also supporters. Southwest Airlines are the primary opponents of the Amendment. The reason DFW supports the Amendment is that the airport, the third business in the nation, is the primary economic engine of the north Texas area. Thousands of people are employed at the airport, and billions of dollars a year flow through it every year. The main fear of the Wright Amendment's repeal is that is will create more traffic around Love, more airline traffic in the air, and a decline in the number of flights going out of DFW.
DFW was a joint project by
both Dallas and Fort Worth, creating an international airport between both cities and closing down service at Greater Southwest International and Love Field because neither airport was able to meet the expected demands of the FAA. So, the FAA stopped federal funding of both airports. Both cities restricted service out of those fields when DFW was complete.
When Southwest came along in 1971, they operated with a very quick, no frills business style, and feared that a long drive to DFW would hurt their business. So, they filed suit to stay at Love and in turn got what they wanted. When deregulation came about, Southwest wanted to expend their business. DFW, American Airlines, Fort Worth, and Braniff resented this and the Wright Amendment came soon after.
The problem, Southwest and opponents of the Amendmet say, is that it infaltes fares at DFW and allows American to charge higher fares. Supporters say that repealment only benefits Dallas and Southwest, leaving Fort Worth with the short end of the stick. They feel it's unfair to deny them use of an airport they helped pay for. Carriers will split their service between the airports, fares will fluctuate due to increasd competition, and we'll see the same competition we saw with Greater Southwest and Love. Southwest Airlines would be in the same position at Love that American is at DFW. They hold a semi-monoply with the amout of gates they have there. Love is, for lack of a better word, Southwest Field. Southwest, is Dallas Airlines.
Now, I'm not old enough to know that competition, but I'm told it was rather fierce. I, personally, am a supporter of the Amendment because Southwest has not proven its case to me. The Amedment does not limit Southwest, it limits Love. If Southwest wants to fly interstate, then perhaps they should...
...move?
