Loaded for take-off

American Airlines did not respond by press time to requests for comment.

Barring any more legal delays, Legend's remaining challenge is to beat the odds of start-ups. Since the airlines were deregulated in the late 1970s, 59 jet airlines have been launched. Today, only two of them -- America West and Midwest Express -- are still in existence.

"If I thought Legend would have the same probability curve as the other start-up airlines, I wouldn't have gotten involved," McArtor says. "Flying out of Love Field gives us a high probability of success, and American Airlines knows it. American doesn't want any competition, because they have the highest-priced business ticket in the industry."

Industry experts concur that Legend has a good shot. "Legend's chances of succeeding are really, really high," says independent aviation analyst Michael Boyd of Evergreen, Colorado. "They have a solid concept that can work very well. Their philosophy is to offer a giant first-class seat and treat you like someone important for the price of a coach fare on other airlines, where you might sit in a middle seat next to a screaming baby and a woman from a Third World country who doesn't bathe. Which one would you choose?"

But even if Legend is wildly successful, Boyd says, it "can't hurt American Airlines, and Love Field can never hurt DFW Airport. American is presently fighting off a Justice Department lawsuit that accuses them of unfairly trying to stop competition. I don't think the lawsuit has any merit. But if American persists in trying to stop Legend, a small airline at an airport that can't expand, it will be like waving a red flag in the face of the Justice Department and will validate its claim. The phalanx of special interests that are trying to stop competition in the metroplex are not in the best interests of American, Fort Worth, or Dallas."

Nonetheless, Boyd says Legend must deliver a squeaky-clean, high-quality product that flies into at least a couple of big markets. Legend will announce its initial batch of flight destinations on January 14, but McArtor promises his airline will eventually take the business traveler to the major markets and meet his needs better than the competition. To that end, Legend is in the midst of building a six-story garage a mere 40 feet from its terminal -- the closest parking area of any airline in the world -- but also plans to offer valet service. The terminal is designed to offer a change from what Boyd calls the "cattle barns" of the typical airline.

At a cost of $20 million, Legend's terminal will supposedly resemble the airline clubs passengers pay to join. It will be fitted with wood paneling, plush carpets, leather seats, and work stations where passengers can plug in their laptops. Instead of transferring calls from person to person, the customer representatives, housed at the terminal, are trained to meet a passenger's every need.

"We're not interested in getting real big," McArtor says, "just real good."