Carl Spackler

You'd think. But the power of free pizza is strong.

Carl

gloopy

We should send one annonymous free pizza to ATL center every time a SW flight gets 10/28 for landing and 2 free pizzas for every t/o. Problem solved.

blakman7

Haven't heard of the STL international rumor but I was under the impression that SWA wanted to grow STL anyway. It is indeed a fact that SWA announced this past week that a flight attendant base in ATL is opening in May 2014 starting with 300 FA's. The TPA base idea was in a Side Letter during the ISL stuff but it was for the 717 drivers. Now that Delta is getting them, it'll be interesting to see what happens in regards to a TPA base.

tsquare

The US government? mmmmm probably not. They still act like SWA is a discount airline.

MWright

Not quite true. The gripe with Delta's desire to fly out of DFW is this:

When the Wright Amendment was established the rules provided that if SWA ever served DFW, they would have to divest some gates at Love Field. In fact, as soon as the purchase of Air Tran was complete, they shuttered the DFW operation to comply with the agreement. Kind of a division of turf; a "you stay on your side we'll stay on ours." This satisfied AA and the politicians they had in their pocket, and was signed into law. That portion of the law (amendment) remains in effect.

Now that the restrictions have been lifted, (via SWA spending millions on a lengthy legal battle) Delta is trying to change the rules; they want SWA to stay where they are, and they also want them to divest some gates at Love.

Figured the board needed a Dallas native to help you connect the dots.

In the event Delta acquires divested gates from SWA at Love, do they have to divest their gates at DFW, or does that door only swing one way?

I think I know what the Delta guys will say.

Justdoinmyjob

This Delta guy says if SWA can turn a profit operating out of DFW, bring it!

paxhauler85

That's not the point. The point is, an agreement was reached in 1979. Now Delta wants to change the terms where it benefits them under the guise of it being fair.

Why would SWA abandon their home base at an airport where they've invested millions of their own dollars to come squeeze into a gate or 2 in the E concourse? Doesn't seem like a wise use of their money.

If Richard is willing to give up some of his gates plus a few more somewhere in E, it might be a player. You think he's ready to give up the renewed presence he's built a DFW the interest of being fair to one of his competitors?

It comes down to this: AA and the politicians set up the rules to punish SWA for refusing to serve DFW and pay the high landing fees and rent, essentially banishing them to Love with a ton of restrictions that they figured would run them out of business. It didn't work. Now said restrictions are going away and SWA is still around, albeit a little bigger airline then they were in 1979. Having held up their end of the deal, SWA is ready to realize the massive efficiencies and revenue that are long overdue. Out of left field, Delta shows up and demands gates on the premise of it being fair. It's a flawed argument.

Unless Delta is willing to give up gates at DFW, they don't have any reason for expecting any at Love.

80ktsClamp

Paxhauler, by your logic, giving WN even more of a monopoly in DAL is the most fair thing to do to increase competition at DAL. Watching your brilliant mind at work is truly a wonderful sight to behold.

paxhauler85

How so? No one wanted anything to do with Love Field before the restrictions were repealed. Now they do, and they want gates given to them? Perhaps DAL should have established and maintained a presence there.

How is SWA (hypothetically) demanding gates at DFW any different?

By the way, nothing is preventing DAL from using the gate(s) they have now.

80ktsClamp

DL is looking to expand competition at DAL- I'm not seeing any demanding going on. You seem a bit fussy about that.

Nothing is preventing WN from going to DFW after the WA drops... they should request gates there, however they seem quite happy with their virtual monopoly at DAL.