[Travelandtourism] AirTran to stay at D/FW until Nov. 21, Southwest says

[Peachtree Travel]

It seems the Southwest, AirTran merger is stering up some political storms 
within the DFW flying market.

Southwest Airlines, which acquired AirTran on May 2, plans to continue its 
scheduled service at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport until Nov. 21 to avoid 
inconveniencing passengers who have already bought tickets on those flights, 
the Dallas-based carrier has told the airport.

The Dallas-based airline must stop D/FW service or give up gates at its home 
base at Dallas Love Field under terms of the Wright Amendment compromise 
agreement forged in 2006.

"The best accommodation of all AirTran customers traveling through D/FW 
International Airport, both those originating from the D/FW area and those 
choosing to visit, is to honor the reservations that have been previously 
been made," Southwest Vice President Bob Montgomery wrote in a letter sent 
to the airport Wednesday. "This avoids the additional and unplanned expense 
to customers of changing travel plans, and it avoids the dilution to the 
regional economy that could result from travelers simply canceling their 
trips as a result of those hassles and expenses."

But taking six months to shut down operations may be longer than local 
politicians are willing to accept.

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief voiced concerns at the May airport board 
meeting that allowing Southwest to wait until the end of the year to stop 
service was "not acceptable." He said he was willing to give Southwest a 
"reasonable amount of time," but under a strict interpretation of the 
agreement, Southwest would have had to end AirTran's D/FW service the day 
its acquisition of the carrier closed.

Under the Wright agreement, Southwest must give up one gate at Love Field 
for every gate it uses at D/FW. AirTran uses two gates at D/FW for nine 
daily flights to Orlando, Fla., Atlanta and Baltimore. However, the 
agreement does not say what should occur in the event of an acquisition.

D/FW CEO Jeff Fegan said Thursday morning at the airport board meeting that 
the airport's lawyers had not had a chance to review the information and 
whether or not Southwest's six-month stay would trigger the agreement's gate 
clause.

"I have not had the chance to talk to anybody on the board, or the airlines 
or the cities," Fegan said, declining to comment on how the mayors of Fort 
Worth and Dallas might react to the news.

Neither Moncrief nor Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway was at the airport board 
meeting Thursday; both were out of town and could not be reached for 
comment. Caraway had agreed that a reasonable amount of time should be given 
to Southwest to leave but that six months was too long.

American Airlines, which was also part of the Wright Amendment compromise 
agreement, declined to comment.