Our City’s airport: When Love Field became “Dallas’ other airport”

Dallas Love Field went from being referred to as “the air capital of the Southwest” (The Dallas Morning News, 1940) to “Dallas’ other airport” on Jan. 13, 1974, when Dallas-Fort Worth Regional (now International) Airport opened its runways. Airlines were excited to adapt to the four horseshoe-shaped terminals (now terminals A, B, C and E), each of which was way larger than the small concourses they left behind at Love.

When the 1958 terminal opened, The Dallas Morning News referred to it, and Love Field, with an adjective that might not have been the first to come to anyone else’s mind to describe the shiny green terminal — “asset.” It was considered a “magnificent asset” because DAL was “one of the few major airports of the world located so closely and conveniently to the heart of the community.”

It seemed that most of the community forgot that notion when looking at the large brown terminals at DFW, terminals that were way closer to Fort Worth than Love Field’s were.

When Southwest Airlines began operations and opened their headquarters at Love Field a few years earlier, they wanted to revolutionize air travel within Texas. However, spending as much time in the car driving from Downtown Dallas to the new airport as one might spend in the air flying from Dallas to another Texas city was not considered revolutionary. It was a distance great enough that one airline thought it warranted a flight.

Metroflight Airlines operated flights between the two airports for $10 on a de Havilland Twin Otter, but the service lasted for a little less than two years. Didn’t all of Love Field’s airlines sign an agreement to move to DFW? Well, yes, but, as lawyer by trade and aviator by heart Herb Kelleher pointed out, Southwest was not one of Love Field’s airlines at the time the agreement was made in 1968, so it did not apply to them.

The result of this statement was legal battles for decades to come. First, it was Dallas, Fort Worth and DFW Airport taking them to court, but the courts ruled in Southwest’s favor, stating they could stay at Love Field. The next battle was the result of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.

Previously, airlines flying in more than one state needed approval for routes, fares, schedules and market entry or exit if they served multiple states. Southwest didn’t, which allowed them to operate so uniquely.

With that obstacle out of the way, Southwest wanted to expand outside of Texas. The courts stated earlier in the decade that Southwest could stay at Love Field because the commute for DFW would be inefficient for short, interstate flights. How is it fair that Southwest could now operate longer routes from the close airport?

That was the mindset of U.S. Rep. Jim Wright, of Fort Worth, who was looking out for the financial stability of the airport of his city. The resulting law of the land in 1979, The Wright Amendment, restricted passenger service from Love Field on midsize aircraft (like the 737s Southwest operates) only to cities in Texas and its border states (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana). Aircraft under 56-seats could fly to other states. This would be key later on.

While it restricted the growth that Southwest wished for, it also greatly restricted competition.

Lamar Muse, who was a co-founder of Southwest, was the exception. He started Muse Air in 1982. The carrier was later named TranStar Airlines, but struggled financially and ceased operations in 1987.

I strongly believe that if Southwest Airlines had not fought the good fight, Dallas Love Field Airport would no longer exist. The City of Dallas had intended for Redbird Airport (RBD), now Dallas Executive Airport, to serve as the primary general aviation airport for the city.

In the 1970s, development had reached far enough north that the growing Addison Airport (ADS) was not as far as it once was. Love Field sat on such valuable land that it could have seen the fate as other inner city airports like Denver Stapleton.

Most of the facilities on Lemmon Avenue were there to support airlines; the corporate aviation industry was not nearly as large as it was today. Love Field’s own website states, “Love Field appeared on its way to closure, but the founding of Southwest Airlines in 1971 continued to breathe life into Love Field as the fledgling airline refused to move its operations to DFW Airport.” Or, it might have been reduced to a smaller size to continue to serve general aviation. Luckily for our city, that did not happen.

When the corporate aviation industry did boom, Love Field was ready. Robert J Wright had a number of triumphs in the hospital industry, including developing Medical City Dallas. With these successes, the family was able to afford to fly privately and began operating aircraft.

Robert Wright was dissatisfied with the quality of service being provided to such high-end customers and took the matters into his own hands in 1997 when he started Business Jet Center in “the Rock Building” of the former Dallas Jet Center on Lemmon Avenue. Initially an FBO (Fixed Base Operator) that also provided hangar space, the company now offers a full suite of aviation services — aircraft management, charter, sales/acquisitions and maintenance.

The flagship building opened in 2000. Now operating 53 acres and 19 hangars on the Lemmon Avenue and Denton Drive sides of Love Field, Business Jet Center remains one of the most awarded and largest family-owned FBOs in the country.

A publisher and aviation historian named George Haddaway had amassed a large collection of aviation artifacts that he donated to the University of Texas in 1963, who transferred his “History of Aviation Collection” to the University of Texas at Dallas in the ’70s.

To honor its notable aviation history, city leaders including Jan Collmer, William E. “Bill” Cooper and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison established The Frontiers of Flight Museum in 1988, with artifacts displayed in Love’s main terminal building by 1990.

In 2004, a state-of-the-art 100,000 square foot building at the southeast end of the airport was constructed. The building, which opened in June, features a priceless collection of military aircraft and artifacts, with many being from World War II.

Additionally, the museum pays homage to the founding of Southwest Airlines, and the collection includes a complete Boeing 737-300 and the nose section of a Boeing 737-200. In recent years, a collection was added to honor the history of Braniff Airways. The museum is also known for its programming, which includes Moon Day every summer.

restrictions did not apply to aircraft with 56 seats or less. Trusten Allan McArtor, former FAA Administrator, had a bold idea to expand Love Field’s service to new states and better serve Dallas’ business market with this principle in mind. He established Legend Airlines in 1996, a carrier that planned to modify Douglas DC-9-30s with 56 business-class seats and serve business markets.

Plagued with lawsuits from airlines and airports who saw this as a threat, it was determined this was not allowed because regularly configured DC-9s had a capacity greater than 56 seats, and the exemption applied to aircraft that were designed to hold 56 seats or less (regional aircraft).

Texas Rep. Joe Barton and Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby became the next leaders of change. The Shelby Amendment not only allowed Legend to operate as planned by making the exception work for any aircraft with 56 seats, but expanded Love Field’s service boundary for regular aircraft to Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

Legend operated their first service to Washington Dulles (IAD) on April 5, 2000, with Los Angeles (LAX), New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Las Vegas (LAS) to follow. In addition to their roomy 56 seat jets, passengers departed Love Field from a private terminal located on Lemmon Avenue complete with Southwestern Bell Phones, DIRECTV and internet. The aircraft also featured DIRECTV, power ports (revolutionary onboard in 2000), and top-notch meal and beverage service.

By creating this service, Legend had poked the beast. Hometown carrier American Airlines was not happy Legend was stealing away their business traffic, so they renovated some of their Fokker 100 jets into a 56 seats all business class configuration and started flights from Love Field to L.A., New York and Chicago.

American’s defense tactics combined with Legend’s endless court battles, high start-up costs and low occupancy led to their bankruptcy and liquidation in 2001. This type of unique experiment and the challenges from other groups would not be Love Field’s last.

This is part 3 of a series on Love Field.