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2000 As noted in a Dallas Morning News article the Love Field fight was really more about civic pride than economics or legal agreements. The historic rivalry between the two cities was based on the notion that anything that benefits Dallas hurts Fort Worth. If Ft. Worth couldn't have something, they did their damndest to make sure Dallas didn't get it, either. This rivalry provided fuel in the fight over Love Field, with each city having a player in the continuing saga. Dallas-based Legend was pitted against Ft. Worth-based American. When it finally became clear that Legend would indeed begin service, American Airlines asked the City of Dallas for two gates at Love Field so they could begin new long-haul flights by mid-April to compete with Legend's service. American wanted gates from either Legend's private terminal or from the old East Concourse that American was leasing for office space. Any changes to AA's lease agreement would have to be approved by the Dallas City Council. Although Legend had built a new six-gate terminal, its gates were not subject to gate sharing provisions because it didn't lease the terminal or the land from the City of Dallas, (Note: That's why it was always referred to as Legend's private terminal.) The gate fight dragged on for five months. AA demanded gates from Love Field. They didn't like the gates that were offered to them. Dallas said "tough." AA began refurbishing gates in the East Concourse in violation of their lease. Dallas told AA to cease and desist. AA hung jetways. It was a stand-off. The local papers published stories to keep their readers updated on each twist and turn in what was becoming a true soap opera.
Legend had it's inaugural flight on April 5, 2000 launching service to Washington DC. Service to Los Angeles and Las Vegas began the following day. From the valet parking and fresh flowers at Legend's new terminal to the flight's leather seats and live TV by satellite, the Legend experience was designed to be upscale and stress-free. There were no limits on carry-on baggage. Full meals and complimentary wine were served on every flight. American tried to compete as best it could while continuing it's battle with Love Field over the use of its gates in the East Concourse. Legend flew DC-9s, while American flew Fokker 100s. Both were reconfigured to seat 56 -- two abreast on each side of the aisle. Legend offered live television with 24 channels. American provided free newspapers and magazines. Both had power ports at each seat for operating laptop computers. Legend's seats were all leather with a 46 inch pitch. American's seats had a leather head rest with a fabric seat and 40 to 42 inches of pitch. Legend had one phone for every two seats, while American had one for every seat. Both airlines served gourmet dishes created by prominent local chefs. Initially, however, Legend's meals were all cold, because of problems with its original plan to include a custom galley. Legend's parking garage was 40 feet from the front door of its $20 million private terminal on Lemmon Avenue. Valet parking was available. American's parking was at a parking lot about a half mile from Love Field. Legend's gates were outfitted with three work carrels with free, one-click Internet access on new IBM personal computers with flat-screen monitors. Each lounge also had Southwestern Bell card swipe phones and laptops could also be plugged in. American, offerd a newsstand, snack bar and telephones. In a Dallas Business Journal article, airline analyst Michael Boyd described AA's Love Field service as a "knee-jerk response" and "really not very smart."
"They're a good airline, but they're not above making mistakes," said Boyd. "For American to do this, it makes them look like a bully ... And they are doing this at a time when the Department of Justice is already suing them for predatory practices. So it's stupid. American has already come out the loser because they're spending money on splitting their traffic." The article went so far as to note that American was calling gold members of its AAdvantage program and asking them to transfer bookings from American flights at DFW Airport to half-fill American's planes at Love Field, Early reports indicated American had a slight lead over Legend in the number of passengers flown in and out of Love Field. Legend planned to start new service from Love Field to New York's LaGuardia Airport in September. When American found out, they immediately announced they would offer three roundtrips daily beginning August 31. Dallas to New York was one of AA's bread and butter routes and they weren't about to cede any of those passengers to Legend. Although passengers loved Legend's service, the airline wasn't achieving a high enough load factor to turn a profit. Most of their start-up capital had been spent defending themselves in court. Time (and money) was running out for them. Legend Airlines suspended operations on December 2 while it looked for more money. High fuel prices and higher-than-expected labor costs for retrofitting planes contributed to the airline's troubles, complicated by three years of litigation expenses courtesy of Ft. Worth, DFW and American Airlines. Although there was some initial hope that Legend would be able to restart its opertions by mid-January, it never happened and after eight short months of service, Legend was gone -- another tombstone in a cemetery of defunct airlines and Ft. Worth, DFW and American had helped dig the grave. If there was a silver lining it was that the Wright Amendment was weakened, Love Field was revitalized, and consumers got more choices. A Dallas Business Journal opinion theorized Legend's legacy was that they rewrote the rules in a way that would benefit the business community for years to come. Not many companies could make a boast like that. |
| L-E-G-E-N-D
L - is for the luxury you gave us
You were always classy - we remember |
| This site was started by an Austin flyer and is dedicated to North Texas residents and employees of Love Field and Southwest Airlines who are working hard to get this law repealed. This site is not affiliated with Southwest Airlines, Dallas Love Field or the City of Dallas.
For more information on the Wright Amendment and to find out how you can help, please visit the following websites.
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