Court Rules Delta to Continue Service From Dallas Love Field

A love triangle: Southwest, Delta, and United in an almighty tangle over gate space at DAL.

Despite the on-going tussle between Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines for gate space at Dallas Love Field (DAL), it was decided last week that, for now, Delta will continue its flights out of DAL as scheduled.

The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade on Friday, January 8, comes amid a dispute between the carriers that dates back to September 2014.

Back then, the Atlanta-based carrier was told that it could no longer fly out of DAL because Southwest would be taking over one of the two gates being used by United Airlines. At the time, United had informed the city, which operates the airport, that it wanted to increase its service from DAL by January 2015.

However, both gates were handed over to Southwest, which is headquartered at DAL.

Southwest, which operates 180 flights daily out of DAL, then protested that it could not share its gate space with Delta due to its increasing schedule.

Following a flurry of lawsuits, the City of Dallas asked federal officials for assistance in resolving the matter.

A hearing was held in September of last year where it was revealed that Southwest had paid United $120 million for the use of its gates. During proceedings, Delta insisted that Southwest had a monopoly on gates at DAL, but Southwest protested otherwise.

In his ruling, as quoted in the Dallas Morning News, Judge Kinkeade wrote, “Southwest’s claim that Delta’s five flights daily unduly interferes with Southwest’s operations is simply not supported by the evidence. Up until its announcement on February 26, 2015, of increased flight operations, the evidence establishes that Southwest was able to accommodate Delta without ‘unduly interfering with’ Southwest’s own operations.”

Following the ruling, Delta released a statement, saying that it is, “pleased that the Court has confirmed our right to serve Love Field.”

For its part, Southwest said that it was evaluating its future options.

While a trial to bring final resolution to the matter is anticipated, a date for future proceedings has not been set. Judge Kinkeade’s full ruling on the case can be found here.

[Photo: Corgan]