The city of Dallas on Monday told Delta Air Lines it can no longer fly from Dallas Love Field as of Oct. 13 — the same day the Wright Amendment expires at the city-owned airport and other airlines will expand their flying.
Delta has flown five nonstop, round-trip flights a day from Love Field to Atlanta since 2008.
Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said the Atlanta-based airline was stunned when the city gave it two weeks’ notice Monday afternoon.
“Delta is disappointed that the city of Dallas has made the decision to reduce competition and travel options at Dallas Love Field by failing to accommodate our service,” Banstetter said. “Delta remains committed to serving North Texas travelers from D/FW and Love Field airports, and will continue to work with all parties to find a solution.”
It’s not clear how Delta will accommodate passengers who have already bought tickets for flights from Love to Atlanta on or after Oct. 13, but the airline probably will redirect passengers to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, he said.
Love has 20 gates, of which 16 are controlled by Southwest and two by United Airlines. Delta currently subleases two gates from American Airlines, but Virgin America will assume control of those gates on Oct. 13 as it shifts operations from D/FW Airport.
Delta had made a request to city officials to use the gates operated by United, according to a letter from the city to Delta dated Monday.
City letter
In the letter, aviation director Mark Duebner told Delta officials that “based on the schedules recently provided, and the Gate Use License Agreement between Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, the city has acknowledged that Delta cannot be accommodated at Dallas Love Field after the expiration of the current sublease with American Airlines.” Delta can continue operations in Love’s old terminal until Oct. 13.
Duebner and Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez did not respond to messages.
Delta hoped to expand its service out of Love Field with the expiration of the Wright amendment. It had planned to add a total of 18 nonstop flights to five cities — Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York, Banstetter said. The airline also planned to carry more passengers as it shifted from 50-seat airplanes to 117-seat planes by early November.
The Wright amendment, which became federal law in 1980 to protect D/FW Airport, originally allowed short flights from Love only to other Texas cities and adjacent states. A 2006 revision required flights to make one stop in the Wright amendment area before continuing on to other U.S. cities. The amendment expires on Oct. 13, letting carriers at Love operate long-haul flights anywhere within the United States or a U.S. territory.
Overall, Love will see flying increase by one-third between now and Nov. 3 as Southwest and Virgin America both add flights.
Delta had subleased two American Airlines gates in Love Field’s old Terminal One, which is scheduled to close by Oct. 13. American also had rights to two gates at the new 20-gate terminal. Delta tried to get those new gates when American was forced to divest them as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
When Virgin America won the right to sublease the gates, Delta scaled back its plans at Love Field. However, it still hoped to find room somewhere at the airport.
Rawlings’ concerns
Four months ago, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called on city staff to find room for all comers at Love.
“I’m disappointed on what’s happening on the United gates,” Rawlings said during a City Council meeting in May. “They’re not using the landing slots. We have three airlines that want to come in here and do this, and we’ve got to figure out how to make that happen.”
The three airlines to which he was referring were Southwest, Virgin and Delta.
The city said in a news release Monday that United will “permanently relocate” from the old terminal to the new Love terminal on Wednesday. A United spokesperson said the carrier had not seen the letter and would not comment on it. The spokesperson also declined to comment on future flying plans out of Love.
Staff writer Terry Maxon contributed to this report.
sjean@dallasnews.com;
rwilonsky@dallasnews.com
Follow Robert Wilonsky on Twitter at @RobertWilonsky and Sheryl Jean on Twitter at @SJeanDallas.
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