Dallas Love Field

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Dallas Love Field ( IATA: DAL, ICAO code: KDAL ) is a public airport in Dallas, Texas in the United States. Love Field was the most important airport in the region, to 1974 Dallas / Fort Worth Airport was opened. Today, Love Field is the most important hub of Southwest Airlines. After many years of political and legal arguments are now offering even American Airlines and Continental Express flights to and from Love Field.

History

Until 1960

Love Field was opened near the Bachman Lake on 19 October 1917 as a military airfield. The name of the airport dates back to the First Lieutenant Moss Lee Love, the, California was killed in a plane crash in San Diego. For civil aviation Love Field was released in 1927.

Love Fields first terminal building was inaugurated on October 20, 1957 and released on January 20, 1958 for general air traffic. The terminal originally had three concourses with 26 gates. The airport was built by the airlines American Airlines, Braniff Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and Trans - Texas Airways ( later Texas International Airlines ) operated.

The first jet aircraft operated the airport from April 1, 1959 with the use of the Turbopropflugzeugtyps Vickers Viscount by Continental Airlines. The first flights with jet engines began on July 12, 1959 American Airlines Boeing 707 to New York.

1960

As the two cities of Dallas and Fort Worth signed in the late 1960s an agreement to jointly build ( later Airport Dallas / Fort Worth) to Dallas / Fort Worth Regional Airport, was intended to restrict the passenger traffic in your own city airports. In addition, the close location of the new airport Greater Southwest International Airport was closed in Fort Worth and converted into the CentrePort business park. Love Field in Dallas remained open as an important part of the aviation infrastructure in North Texas.

1970

In 1971, Southwest Airlines was founded and based in Love Field. The main business of the new airlines were cheap flights between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Approach at the time was that the benefits of relatively short flights would frustrate the long drive to the new airport within Texas.

Following a complaint from Southwest Airlines against the city of Dallas the judges decided that the city of the airline should not prohibit Love Field to use, as long as the airport is opened further. The other airlines signed contracts with the operators of the new airport, which prevented further operation of Love Field for them. After the opening of Dallas / Fort Worth Southwest, making it the only airline offering flights to and from Love Field.

Due to the drastic reduction of aviation in Love Field, it was necessary to find new uses for disused terminal. From November 1975 to May 1978 one of the waiting rooms was used for a designated as Llove Amusement Park Entertainment Complex, which consisted of cinemas, an ice and roller skating rink, a large game room, restaurants and a bowling alley.

Some other buildings were amplified by Southwest used in the course of the next few years to work and training purposes.

Wright Amendment

After 1978, air traffic in the United States was deregulated by the Airline Deregulation Act, Southwest announced the goal in Love Field to rapidly increase passenger traffic and also offer flights to other states. The plans of the airline were rejected by the operator cities of the new airport Dallas / Fort Worth. Congressman and later Speaker of the House Jim Wright put forward a new law as a compromise solution to protect from Dallas / Fort Worth, which was passed by Congress and also known as the Wright Amendment. Passenger flights from Love Field with more than 56 passengers were limited to destinations in Texas and the four neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The law is still controversial and has undergone several changes that should make it more attractive than Love Field Airport.

In the coming years, Southwest expanded its flights from Love Field to destinations within the five states further and became one of the most successful low cost airlines in the United States.

1980s and 1990s

With the success of Southwest there were pages of other airlines flying renewed interest flights to and from Love Field to offer. Southwest's co-founder Lamar Muse started Muse Air in 1982, which focused on short-haul flights with DC -9 and MD -80 between Love Field and Houston. As Muse Air in the longer term success competing with Southwest, Southwest bought the airline in 1985, they renamed it TranStar Airlines and ceased its activities in 1987. Continental Airlines in 1985 showed renewed interest again Love Field to fly, which led to many years of legal battles with the city of Fort Worth and the operating company of Dallas / Fort Worth on the interpretation of the Wright Amendments. The city of Dallas in 1992 for operation in turn actively lobbying to repeal the law because they saw great economic potential in additional air traffic. 1997, Congress passed the Shelby Amendment, named after the deputies Richard Shelby, which also permitted flights from Love Field to Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama from now on.

As a result of the Shelby Amendments began Continental, Delta Airlines and Legend Airlines preparations flights from Love Field to offer. Fort Worth filed a lawsuit against Dallas in order to prevent the implementation of the new law. American Airlines joined the action in on the side of Fort Worth but stated that it would also offer flights from Love Field if other airlines would be entitled to it. After a year of further legal disputes Continental 1998, the first new airline since 1974 Love Field to their destinations on. American Airlines also began Love Field to use, but continued to try to prevent the expansion of the airport through the legal system. Thus sued Fort Worth and American Airlines together the Department of Transportation of the United States to prevent further authorizations for flights from Love Field.

Since 2000

Various United States Court of Appeals rejected all appeals lodged in 2000 against the Shelby Amendment, a further appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States failed. As a result, a well directed Delta and Legend flights from Love Field, where the offer was addressed mainly to business travelers due to the continuing size limits of 56 passengers per flight.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 decreased abruptly demand in the U.S. air traffic, particularly in the area of business travelers. In the next few years, most airlines ended their bid Love Field, remained 2003, only Southwest and Continental Express.

2002 Love Field celebrated its 85th anniversary and has been included in the list of Texas State Historical Sites in 2003. Frontiers of Flight Museum was opened in the north of the airport, after a small museum has been set up in the terminal before.

On 30 November 2005 Missouri has been added as an additional state, which may be served by direct flights from Love Field. This new option has been used by Southwest flying to St. Louis and Kansas City. American Airlines returned on 2 March 2006 with flights to St. Louis, Kansas City, Austin and San Antonio to Love Field back.

At the instigation of the Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Kay Granger Kongressabgeordnetin the limitations of the Wright Amendment were reduced on 13 October 2006 by a new law on. Direct flights from Love Field to destinations outside the frame permitted states to be unrestricted in 2014. Passengers can book " Wright - zone " unless the flights make a stop in one of those states, or a change of aircraft is necessary there already before 2014 tickets from Love Field to destinations outside the. The maximum number of available gates at Love Field was reduced from 32 to 20, of which 16 Southwest and American Airlines and Continental two entitled. No other airline can offer flights to or from Love Field. Southwest said on October 17 that it would offer within two days Flights to 25 destinations outside the previously allowed states.