Dallas Love Field's future looks like its 1970s heyday.
A $519 million capital improvement project for what was once the nation's eighth-busiest airport is set to break ground in June.
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Under the plan, the existing terminals – and their combined 20 gates – will come down as a new T-shaped building rises. The first gates of the new concourse are expected to open in 2011.
Here's Southwest Airlines Co.'s new airport concept for a revamped Dallas Love Field: drive-thru ticketing.
As a $519 million improvement program takes shape at the airport, its primary tenant and manager of the modernization program is thinking about putting in an area where passengers could drive up, check in, drop their luggage and then park as a way to add to Love's reputation as an easy place to fly.
"We'd also like to add valet service," Bob Montgomery, Southwest's vice president of properties and facilities, told the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce at a meeting Thursday at the Frontiers of Flight museum. "Love Field has always been about convenience."
The plans sketched by Dallas architect Corgan Associates present a re-envisioned terminal robed in green glass, tall ceilings and modest planter boxes with large cactuses for some Southwestern flair.
The big upgrade over the current Love Field is light; the new design lets lots of it in, though the orientation of the new 20-gate concourse is such that it won't get nearly any direct sunlight that plays havoc with utility costs. Another idea bouncing around is using solar panels and other green-flavored energy savers.
Small details such as the "One Riot, One Ranger" statue that's a favorite of Love Field travelers will be part of the new airport, which aims to open its initial phase Nov. 11, 2011. That statue embodies a legend that a single Texas Ranger was dispatched to quell a big riot.
IAD51FL From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 343 posts, RR: 3 Reply 3, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 9252 times:
I have heard from the Ex-Coex Manger in DAL that Kellner was wanting to put a P-Club in DAL after the new terminal was built. So I am sure that they would be in on the new facility.
CO has many frequent travelers into and out of DAL, and they have always requested a P-Club...maybe they will be getting it soon.
William From United States of America, joined Jun 1999, 1139 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 9085 times:
What s the max # of operations could SWA operate from 16 gates? If some flights did a 20 minute turn around you could get up to 250 departures easily. I expect SWA to set a new standard in gate usage at DAL.
LoneStarMike From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 3643 posts, RR: 38 Reply 7, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 9056 times:
For those who haven't seen it, here is a layout of the new terminal:
If the areas in beige are the existing facilities that are being retained, then it looks like the main lobby area is being kept, which is my favorite part of Love Field and the only "classic" part worth saving, IMO. It looks like the existing recently renovated baggage facility to the west will be kept and expanded and a much bigger new ticketing hall will replace the existing one to the east of the main lobby. The main terminal looks to have the same general layout as it originally did, only with a bigger ticket hall on the east and a bigger baggage claim to the west.
The only thing I've ever heard or read in the master plan update about the Main Lobby in the terminal is that it will be "modernized" but I haven't really heard much in the way of details.
I really wish they would restore the main lobby to it's former glory and take out those offices they put in up on the mezzanine. They could then once again open up the mezzanine for seating. Since meeters and greeters can no longer go to the gates, that mezzanine area would be a perfect place for them. Obviously, due to security reasons, there most likely won't be any doors leading out to an open-air observation deck, but they could have a glass wall along the back - facing north - that looked out towards the concourse, and the front part of the mezzanine - facing south - could be partly open with a half-wall that could look out over the lobby and the (beautifully restored, I hope) World Map on the lobby floor.
Install lots of seating and several flight arrival/departure screens up there so the greeters would know when their party's flight had arrived, Maybe have one of those giant electronic maps that shows the planes arriving and departing like what you'd see on Flight Aware. They have one in the meeter/greeter area at ELP. It's really cool. The greeters could then take the escalator downstairs and meet their party as they came up the connector walkway that leads from the concourse into the main lobby.
The mezzanine wouldn't be "quite" the same as the original (no outside deck) but it would still have the same general layout and would function as a place for people to wait, just as it did when Love Field first opened - only modernized for the 21st Century. Move the security checkpoints on the ground floor below the mezzanine a bit further to the north going out towards the concourse and keep the terrazzo floors and definitely the world map, and if possible, keep the general red/green/yellow color scheme that the main lobby had when it originally opened in 1958. It would also pay tribute to the original Red, Yellow, and Green Concourses, as they were known back then.
Actually - now that I've looked at the video, it does look like they're opening up that mezzanine area again.
For those who haven't been to Love Field recently (or ever), here's a few photos I took last week of some of the recently completed renovation projects there.
LoneStarMike From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 3643 posts, RR: 38 Reply 8, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 9042 times:
Quoting William (Reply 6): What s the max # of operations could SWA operate from 16 gates?
A few years ago before they did the renovations at OAK, Southwest was operating 142 daily departures out of 11 gates or 12.9 departures per gate.
If - at a typical gate - your first departure is at 6:30 am and your last departure is 9:30 pm (15 hours) and you're only doing 10 departures per gate, that works out to a departure every hour and a half. Spread out evenly thoughout the day, that would mean after every 30-minute "turn" there's a scheduled period of an hour when the gate is vacant before the next incoming flight arrives and does it's 30 minute turn.
If WN could could reduce their scheduled "vacant time" at the gate between turns down to 40 minutes, they'd wind up with 14 departures per gate with each departure about an hour and 10 minutes apart from 6:30 am to 9:40 pm. 14 departures per gate times 16 gates would be 224 departures per day.
And actually, since there would be 40 minutes at a typical gate in between the first departure at 6:30 am and the first arrival at 7:10 am, if they had any additional aircraft that RON'ed in a remote area, WN would have 40 minutes to tow another plane to the gate after the first departure pushed back at 6:30, load it up and get it out before that gate's first scheduled arrival. Since an originator flight is only half of a turn - no passengers/baggage to unload and presumably the plane has already been cleaned - you could load up passengers & luggage in 20 minutes and be off the gate with enough time before that gate's first arrival. They could do the same thing (in reverse) with arrivals at the end of the day. That would give them an average of 15 departures, per gate which would allow roughly 240 departures per day. More departures per gate would help them lower their costs.
Of course more departures per gate would mean you had more passengers in the concourse at any given time, and I don't think the current concourse can handle many more. The new concourse needs to be spacious and much wider than the existing concourse and have bigger (in total square footage) gates with room for lots of seating, more circulation space, and a lot more airside concessions than there are now, and from the video, it looks like this will be the case.
Plus, the way the new concourse is laid out, it looks like planes will be able to taxi to and from the gates/runways much more quickly that the current concourse. There's less "stuff" to have to taxi around and no narrow alleyways like the one between the North and West Concourses.
William From United States of America, joined Jun 1999, 1139 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 9001 times:
Thanks Lonestar Mike for that synopsis. I am sure the SWA ops people have a plan in waiting.
Back to the terminal itself, it looks to me they have cloned Hobby. They will close down ops on the inside of the fingers and build the T concourse, open the outside facing gates and then tear down the rest of the old concourses so they can finish the outer edges of the T concourse. That's how they built the new Hobby concourse without interruption of ops.
AAtakeMeAway From United States of America, joined Jul 2004, 298 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 8935 times:
What about the concourse that WN uses for the school (or offices, or whatever it is
Commavia From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 10193 posts, RR: 62 Reply 13, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 8891 times:
Quoting IAD51FL (Reply 3): I have heard from the Ex-Coex Manger in DAL that Kellner was wanting to put a P-Club in DAL after the new terminal was built. So I am sure that they would be in on the new facility.
CO has many frequent travelers into and out of DAL, and they have always requested a P-Club...maybe they will be getting it soon.
Wouldn't surprise me, since there are definitely plenty of Houston business travelers on those flights who would no doubt love a Presidents Club.
On a somewhat related note, I predict that AA will probably want to get space in the new terminal for at least a small Admirals Club as well, since after 2014, AA will definitely be flying from Love to some important business markets - ORD, LAX and LGA being at the top of the list, I suspect.
ThePinnacleKid From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 674 posts, RR: 9 Reply 14, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 8856 times:
Quoting Commavia (Reply 13): On a somewhat related note, I predict that AA will probably want to get space in the new terminal for at least a small Admirals Club as well, since after 2014, AA will definitely be flying from Love to some important business markets - ORD, LAX and LGA being at the top of the list, I suspect.
I would imagine the same thing.. especially since they have shifted their ops around to only be DAL-ORD as is with ERJ's to get around W.A. in current form.... That said, I wonder why they don't launch/test DAL-MIA.... the ERJ can def. handle that payload and range...
Grain From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 83 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (4 years 4 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 8840 times:
Quoting LoneStarMike (Reply 8): And actually, since there would be 40 minutes at a typical gate in between the first departure at 6:30 am and the first arrival at 7:10 am, if they had any additional aircraft that RON'ed in a remote area, WN would have 40 minutes to tow another plane to the gate after the first departure pushed back at 6:30, load it up and get it out before that gate's first scheduled arrival. Since an originator flight is only half of a turn - no passengers/baggage to unload and presumably the plane has already been cleaned - you could load up passengers & luggage in 20 minutes and be off the gate with enough time before that gate's first arrival. They could do the same thing (in reverse) with arrivals at the end of the day. That would give them an average of 15 departures, per gate which would allow roughly 240 departures per day. More departures per gate would help them lower their costs.
lets try to remember the ramp guys working on these gates. i like to take a break every now and again. dont kill me
VIflyer From US Virgin Islands, joined May 1999, 493 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (4 years 4 months 7 hours ago) and read 7455 times:
Quoting ThePinnacleKid (Reply 14): That said, I wonder why they don't launch/test DAL-MIA.... the ERJ can def. handle that payload and range...
No actually there would be a pretty good payload hit on a DAL-MIA flight. Mainly due to the fact that the ERJ's aren't over water equipped nor ditch certified so they have to go the long way. When we were doing XNA-MIA it was a EMB-140 only route and even then if the winds weren't favorable or wx along the route it would still take a pretty good hit. On the 140 (44 seats), you would routinely see a weight restriction to 30 or so pax due to fuel/bags. Using great circle mapper and plugging in MIA-TPA-TLH-XNA I get 1108 mi., swap DFW for XNA it shows 1171 mi.
Now the CR7 would be optimal but with the current W.A. it wouldn't be eligible and the CR7 don't go to MIA due to the limited number of them and being use on constantly high yield flight only.
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