Originally Posted by
MrMan
AA is stating it currently does not have plans to give up its 3 soon to be brand new empty gates.
One wonders what will be AA's response.
Regarding AA's gates, here's the key part of that article {emphasis added)
American spokesman Tim Smith said American will retain control of its Love Field gates after American Eagle stops service June 11, while its ticket counter space will revert to the airport's control.
American will "take our cue from the airport, and certainly [we] are willing to negotiate a sublease based on the ticket counter issue being resolved with the airport first, if necessary," Smith said. "We currently have no gate subleases signed for the gates with any carrier."
AA's lease on those three gates (which runs through 2028) is on a preferential use basis. If they're not using them and another new entrant needs space and there are no other gates available, then AA would be required to sublease the gates to the new entrant. However, AA will still retain control of the gates and can get them back in 2014 if they choose.
This same thing actually happened on a lesser scale to AA at Love Field back in the late 1990's
In mid-June, 1999 the
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported:
Continental Express, citing increased demand among business travelers, has partially squeezed American Airlines from the gates the carriers share at Dallas Love Field.
Beginning July 9, Continental will add two daily Love-to- Houston round-trip flights, forcing American to shift three Love-to-Austin routes to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport beginning July 2, scrapping one daily flight in the process.
Continental Express can elbow American for space at Love Field because it has preferential use of gates 41 and 42, the gates shared by the two airlines but controlled by Continental.
As the leaseholder, AA would still have to pay rent to Love Field regardless of whether or not they were being used. So might as well sublease them to Delta for the time being and then kick them out come 2014.