Wright Amendment On CSPAN

[jimntx]

Now, since this law calls for demolishing all gates except 20 (with 16 going to SWA, 2 each to CO and AA), the courts are going to tell the City of Dallas that they have to make gates available.

Excuse me for my ignorance, but why is the change in the law requiring gates to be demolished? Or what good comes out of it....

Currently there are 19 operable gates--i.e., jetbridges attached to the gate--at Love Field. There are more gates than that--for instance, the old Legend airline terminal has 6 gates in it, just no jetbridges. And, the Love Field Master Plan called for up to 32 gates.

The compromise agreement between the City of Dallas, SWA, AA, and CO specifies that there will be no more than 20 gates at Love Field with SW controlling 16 of those gates, and AA & CO with 2 each. To assure that there will be only 20 gates, the agreement also specifies that all other gates are to be demolished preventing anyone from reneging on the agreement down the road.

This agreement between the specified parties is what made the Wright Amendment repeal law possible. However, since there is another Federal law that has been around for a long time which states that any airport authority using Federal funds to maintain the airport (which the City of Dallas does) must make gate space available to ANY U.S. flag airline that wishes to serve that airport.

The compromise agreement effectively shuts out all airlines except for SW, AA, and CO. I don't think this is going to pass muster with the courts at some point.

 

[eolesen]

To assure that there will be only 20 gates, the agreement also specifies that all other gates are to be demolished preventing anyone from reneging on the agreement down the road.

The reduction in potential gates is to ensure overflight noise doesn't increase too much in the surrounding neighborhoods, and so that traffic in the area doesn't get out of hand.

Also, people overlook the fact that AMR's leasehold originally had six usable gates. When the master plan was approved a few years back, the three which had not been rehab'd from office space into gate space were demolished.

If there's any reneging on the part of the airport, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see AMR to be back in court looking for restitution as well as to gain the right to reconstruct them.

This agreement between the specified parties is what made the Wright Amendment repeal law possible. However, since there is another Federal law that has been around for a long time which states that any airport authority using Federal funds to maintain the airport (which the City of Dallas does) must make gate space available to ANY U.S. flag airline that wishes to serve that airport.

The compromise agreement effectively shuts out all airlines except for SW, AA, and CO. I don't think this is going to pass muster with the courts at some point.

That base is already covered:

If the existing carriers are not able or are not willing to accommodate the new entrant service, then the City of Dallas agrees to require the sharing of preferential lease gates, pursuant to Dallas' existing lease agreements.

Even if the ex-Legend gates and unoccupied gates at the main terminal are demolished, it doesn't absolve DAL from accommodating new entrants. As long as space is available and made available on request, there's no room for a court challenge with regard to access.