The Noise From Love Field Is Either a Closed Runway or SWA's Big AirTran Acquisition

Sunandan Subramaniam/AirNet.comI live in the Love Field flight path -- have all my life. So, you say, there's more noise than usual coming from the airport? OK, then. Me, I can't tell. But Angela Hunt has one explanation: construction on Runway 13R-31L, which runs parallel to Denton Drive. It was...

By Robert Wilonsky

September 27, 2010

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I live in the Love Field flight path -- have all my life. So, you say, there's more noise than usual coming from the airport? OK, then. Me, I can't tell. But Angela Hunt has one explanation: construction on Runway 13R-31L, which runs parallel to Denton Drive. It was closed a few weeks back for, as city staff puts it, "reconstruction of seven connecting taxiways," forcing more traffic onto Runway 13L-31R, which runs parallel to Lemmon Avenue. The job should last till November 20, weather permitting.

Or perhaps that noise is coming from Southwest HQ, where Gary Kelly announced this morning that Southwest is buying AirTran Airways for $1.4 billion cash money, though with debt service and aircraft operating leases the deal's worth $3.4 billion total. Says Kelly, who cautions that nothing's done done till the paperwork's signed, "the acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity to grow Southwest Airlines' presence in key markets we don't yet serve and takes a significant step towards positioning us for future growth." An entire website's been set up for those with more questions.

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