Virgin America Is Now Booking Flights Out of Love Field

Three airlines -- Delta, Southwest, and Virgin America -- have been battling for the final two gates at Dallas Love Field since American Airlines was forced to give them up to settle an antitrust suit brought by the federal government last August. Virgin is declaring victory. At a Friday morning...

By Eric Nicholson

April 25, 2014

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Three airlines -- Delta, Southwest, and Virgin America -- have been battling for the final two gates at Dallas Love Field since American Airlines was forced to give them up to settle an antitrust suit brought by the federal government last August.

Virgin is declaring victory. At a Friday morning news conference, CEO David Cush said the company has reached a deal for the gates with American Airlines. It still needs city of Dallas approval, which Cush described as a "routine" technicality.

The city of Dallas sent out a news release Thursday announcing that "there has been no decision regarding any carriers operating at these gates."

Virgin must not be too worried. As of this morning, you can visit Virgin America's website to book flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., and a few other destinations.

Service to LA San Francisco, and D.C. is scheduled to begin on October 13 (i.e. the expiration of the Wright Amendment) with three nonstop flights. Service to NYC's Laguardia Airport starts October 28 and will include four direct flights. Flights to Chicago O'Hare will be added in 2015.

Virgin will compete aggressively on cost, offering fares as low as $79 and is promising a 30 percent discount over Southwest Airlines, which controls 16 of Love Field's 20 gates.

Send your story tips to the author, Eric Nicholson.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.