Dallas Love Field (DAL) is one of the two main commercial airports serving the Texan city, alongside the intercontinental mega hub that is Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The facility is among the oldest in the US, having opened in October 1917, and, until the opening of DFW Airport in 1974, it served as Dallas' main air hub. Today, however, it primarily handles short-haul domestic traffic.
Southwest is the facility's dominant operator at present, with services also provided by US 'big three' legacy carrier and SkyTeam member Delta Air Lines (to and from its main hub at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and semi-private operator JSX. Alaska Airlines also serves the facility from Seattle, but these flights will cease in May. More than a decade ago, Virgin America, which was ultimately acquired by Alaska Airlines, was the subject of the 'Free Love Field' campaign.
American Airlines had to give up its gates at Love Field
The campaign came about after the announcement that American Airlines would have to give up its two gates at Dallas Love Field. According to Smarter Travel, this was dictated by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as a condition of the deal that would ultimately see the Fort Worth-headquartered US legacy carrier and oneworld member merge with fellow heavyweight US Airways.
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Initially, Delta Air Lines leased the gates in question from American, with Smarter Travel noting that the carrier was so confident in being able to buy them outright that it began selling seats for future flights from Dallas Love Field. These were reportedly available on major domestic routes to some of Delta Air Lines' largest hubs, namely the likes of Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York.
The DOJ, which also required American Airlines to divest gates at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City and Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington DC, expressed a preference at the time that it would rather see the gates acquired by a low-cost carrier. However, with existing low-cost giant Southwest Airlines already dominating Love Field, Delta may have felt as though the budget sector was already more than sufficiently accounted for at the Texan airport.
Photo: Mark Quadling | Wikimedia Commons
US Airways, which began life as All American Aviation in 1939 and carried several other brand names (such as Allegheny Airlines and USAir) before settling on its final moniker in 1997, was eventually successfully merged into American Airlines in October 2015. By this time, the situation regarding American's former gates at Love Field had long been resolved. However, they didn't end up going to Delta.
Virgin America was also interested in the gates
The other interested party in the battle for American Airlines' former gates at Dallas Love Field was low-cost carrier Virgin America. The airline, which was founded in 2004 and commenced operations three years later, primarily based its network out of hubs on the West Coast of the United States, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, American's departure from Love Field opened another door.
Photo: Konstantin Von Wedelstaedt | Wikimedia Commons
This would allow Virgin America to expand its operations eastward by opening a Texan base, while also 'sticking it to the man' by taking on one of the largest legacy carriers in the US in the form of Delta Air Lines. Of course, the latter of these was not a new phenomenon for a Virgin Group airline, with UK-based Virgin Atlantic having had a long-running rivalry with flag carrier British Airways. This continues today, with the airline looking to poach BA's frequent flyers amid a loyalty shakeup.
According to Smarter Travel, Virgin America planned to use the two former American Airlines gates to open a new 'mini hub' at Dallas Love Field, offering flights to destinations such as Chicago O'Hare (ORD), New York LaGuardia, and Washington National Airport. However, in a statement of intent concerning the seriousness of its bid, the carrier also pledged to relocate its existing flights on the routes from San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) to DFW Airport to Dallas Love Field.
Photo: WestportWiki | Wikimedia Commons
Nonetheless, despite the exciting promise of Virgin America's plan for a 'mini hub' at the Texan facility, and the DOJ's indication that it would prefer the former American Airlines gates to be divested to a low-cost carrier, it found itself up against a formidable opponent in Delta Air Lines. Given the 'David vs Goliath' nature of this gate battle, the airline needed a well-drilled PR campaign to achieve its goal.
Free Love Field
According to the Shorty Awards, this came to life in the form of an advocacy campaign known as 'Free Love Field.' The Shorty Awards notes that Virgin America "was outgunned in terms of lobbying, a local employee base, community presence and advertising budgets" in its battle with Delta, meaning that "it was essential for the airline to create a creative, all-encompassing PR/Digital advocacy campaign."
Photo: Eric in SF | Wikimedia Commons
The title of the campaign alluded to the fact that, if Virgin America acquired the slots, it would make Dallas Love Field a more competitive environment by offering a low-cost alternative to the established brand of Delta Air Lines. With this in mind, it devised the tagline "When airlines compete, consumers win," and looked to garner both consumer support and media coverage in its attempt to acquire the gates.
'Free Love Field' was a wide-reaching campaign that even saw direct involvement from Virgin Group co-founder and Virgin America minority owner Sir Richard Branson. Indeed, the British business magnate hosted his very own political-style rally in Dallas at a venue called The Rustic, showing that Virgin America's commitment to winning the gates and improving competition went right to the top.
Photo: Michael Barera | Wikimedia Commons
As well as involving in-person events such as press conferences and tours, Free Love Field also had a considerable online presence in the form of an online petition and its own website. The campaign was also active across various different social media platforms as it looked to expand its digital reach, such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter (now known as X), and even Vine (remember that, anyone?).
Delta was ruled out but competition remained from Southwest
Despite Delta Air Lines' initial confidence in its potential ability to purchase the former American Airlines slots at Dallas Love Field, the DOJ ultimately saw things differently. As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in March 2014, a court filing ruled that Delta Air Line was "not an appropriate divestiture candidate," as the DOJ stood firm on its position that a low-cost operator should get the gates. It added:
"The United States concluded that divesting assets to Delta would fail to address the harm arising from the merger and would be inconsistent with the goals that the remedy seeks to achieve."
Photo: Danazar | Wikimedia Commons
While this decision ruled Delta Air Lines out of the running for access to the two former American Airlines gates, this did not mean that they would end up in the hands of Virgin America by default. Indeed, the carrier also faced competition for these assets from a second operator, namely Southwest, which was a formidable opponent on account of its existing presence at Love Field and its status as an LCC.
A successful campaign
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported at the time that, should Southwest Airlines succeed in its bid to acquire the two former American Airlines gates at Dallas Love Field, it would "add 20 flights to 12 new destinations." However, CBS ultimately reported in May of 2014 that, after careful consideration, the City of Dallas had chosen to award the gates to Virgin America, rendering its campaign a success. Virgin America President and CEO David Cush welcomed the decision, stating:
"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to bring new competition to Love Field, an important airport for travelers because of its proximity to the city's central business district. We appreciate the support of Dallas travelers and all of the Virgin America flyers and look forward to bringing a new choice to the patrons of Love Field."
The success of the campaign was highlighted by the Shorty Awards, which listed Free Love Field as a finalist in the category of Multi-Platform Campaigns at the seventh annual iteration of the contest. The competition's website explained that the initiative consisted of "just over 20 days of aggressive and creative campaigning," with the victory being a success for "consumers fighting for more options."
The developments that followed
Following the good news of its victory in the battle for the two former American Airlines gates at Dallas Love Field, Virgin America set about growing its presence at the Texan facility. For example, it announced in August 2014 that, by April 2015, it would be operating four daily non-stop round trips to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC, with LaGuardia seeing such frequencies by October 2014.
Virgin America ceased to exist just a handful of years later, as it was merged into Alaska Airlines in 2018. However, its legacy at Love Field lived on, with Airline Geeks reporting that Alaska Airlines would inherit Virgin America's gates at the Texan facility as part of the merger. However, as mentioned at the start of the article, Alaska Airlines will cease serving Love Field in May, bringing the story to a close.