the issue is whether an airline can lease its gates out at an airport, return years later after the airport is completely full, and force out other carriers that have maintained service.
If VX or any other carrier continues to operate from those gates, the DOT says that maintaining service by non-leaseholders is more important than allowing a carrier with a lease to push other carriers out.
Feel free to let us know if AA's situation at DAL has ever existed at another airport but I don't think it has; it is also very possible that the DOT will succeed at getting DAL to convert any gates that come available to common use.
The courts will rule on the airport access issue that currently affect DL but they do give some indication of what will happen with AA down the road. The difference is that AA doesn't serve DAL and didn't at the time DAL moved from having gate space available to where it is now which is really full.
and as much as some here want to see AA back at DAL even before the 10 year period, they have not requested accommodation which is the first step to regaining its space; since the DOJ required AA to divest its gates and AA signed a contract to do so, AA has no legal claim to be at DAL that is any different from where DL is right now.
and since DAL has no common use gates, one of the very few large airports in the country to do so and DL and the DOT strongly encouraged DAL to create common use gates from the AA and then the UA gates, it is very likely that the DOT will continue to push on DAL to require accommodation of non-lease holding airlines like DL or any other carrier that comes along if/when there is any gate space available.
Given that a ruling favoring WN at DAL would set off a whole series of gate grabs across the country that could lock competitors out of gate constrained airports, it is highly doubtful that the DOT will back off its position and that a judge will recognize the value of what the DOT requires and dictate that DOT regulations are just as valid at DAL as they are at scores of other airports.
Given that the chances of DAL activity declining to the point where DAL space is available for another carrier, it is very likely that this case will just involve DL and it will be WN that will have to accommodate DL on part of the 2 ex-UA gates unless VX pulls down its schedule.