Airport Research Project and summary power point
One of the most important aspects in airport management is the ability to have, at a minimum, a general understanding of all aspects of the airport’s operation and organizational structure. For this project, students are required to select a small, medium, or large hub commercial service airport and collect selected data and documentation about their facility to formulate a comprehensive report and presentation. Students must then determine what they believe to be the airport’s greatest need for improvement and propose a solution using the information gathered. Proposals will be evaluated by other members of the class.
In order to use an airport, you are strongly encouraged have the airport’s master plan available to reference.
Instructions
Each report and presentation should contain the following nine (9) items:
· History of the airport
· Airport ownership and organizational structure
· City
egion information
· Passenge
cargo statistics for the last 5 years
· Description of airfield and terminal layout
· Airlines and cargo ca
iers serving the airport
· Cu
ent or proposed construction projects
· Special events/other information
· Identify the airport’s greatest need for future growth and propose a solution
The paper Airport Research Project and summary power point
For the power point is just a summy of every thing in the project
DALLAS LOVE FIELD 1
Airport Research Project: Dallas Love Field
Victoria Williams
Eastern Kentucky University
DALLAS LOVE FIELD 2
Dallas Love Field
History of the Airport
Dallas Love Field, located 6 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas, is a unique airport with
a challenging past and a vision for the future. Housing the corporate headquarters of Southwest
Airlines, the airport has been influenced by the upbeat and innovative Southwest company
culture. Although they have had their growth limited in the past by Dallas Fort-Worth, they are
finally entering into a period of prosperity and growth.
Love Field was created to serve as a training base for new pilots as the United States
entered into World War I. It was one of thirty-two new Air Service fields established in 1917 to
serve this purpose (Evinger, XXXXXXXXXXFlight training was conducted in two phases at the time:
primary and advanced. Love Field provided the eight-week primary education phase which
taught basic airmanship principles with dual and solo flight instruction. After candidates
completed their primary training at Love Field, they were transfe
ed to a different base for
advanced training.
The name Love Field comes from Lieutenant Moss Lee Love, who was killed in a Type
C Wright pusher bi-plane when it crashed on September 4th, 1913 in San Diego. According to the
Love Field website (“History,” 2016) he was the eighth aviation officer to be killed and the 10th
fatality in Army aviation. The United States Army named love Field on October 19, 1917, in
honor of Lt. Moss Lee Love.
The City of Dallas purchased Love Field and opened it for civilian use in 1927. After
this, innovations at the airport began happening very quickly. Delta Air Service, Inc. provided
the first passenger service from Dallas to Jackson, Mississippi by way of Shreveport and
DALLAS LOVE FIELD 3
Monroe, LA on August 9th, 1929. Love Field completed their first paved runways in 1932, and
they placed a control tower into commission in 1937 (“Chronology of Events,” 2016).
Love Field was also at the leading edge of technology when they were the first airport to
introduce moving sidewalks in 1958. The 1,425 foot contraption consisted of three loops and
assisted with the long walk from the terminal lo
y to the plane ramps. Unfortunately, the airport
was also the scene of the first death from a moving walkway when a two-year-old girl got her
clothes stuck and was crushed by the belt in 1960 (“Moving Sidewalks”).
After several years of prosperity, the airport was put in a tough spot when Congress
enacted the Wright Amendment in 1979, restricting their flights to certain cities and frequency.
According to Ahles (2014), “Leaders of Dallas and Fort Worth agreed in the 1960s to close their
municipal airports to commercial passenger service in order to receive federal funding for a
egional airport that would be built halfway between the two cities. But Southwest Airlines, a
small startup airline serving only cities within Texas, won several legal battles that ordered
Dallas to keep Love Field open.”
While the federal government moved to deregulate the airline industry in 1978, congress
decided it was still necessary to limit Love Field to protect Dallas Fort-Worth. The airport was
limited to using aircraft with fewer than 56 passengers and only allowed flights to neighboring
states. Southwest was determined to stay with Love Field, and fought for over 25 years to repeal
the Wright Amendment. They were finally able to move forward in October of 2014, when the
Wright Amendment was officially repealed (Ahles, 2014).
Airport Ownership and Organizational Structure
Dallas Love Field is cu
ently owned by the City of Dallas and managed by the City’s
Department of Aviation. All of the airport staffing is done through the City of Dallas. The airport
DALLAS LOVE FIELD 4
has separated its operational duties into four different divisions. These are the Environmental
Affairs, Finance and Administration, Airport Operations, and Property Management Divisions
(“Love Notes”).
The Environmental Affairs Division is responsible for upholding all environmental
egulations and minimizing or mitigating any negative impact the airport may have on the
su
ounding environment. The Finance and Administration Division handles all budgeting and
payments, accounting, and human resource tasks. The Airport Operations Division has its own
four sub-divisions: Operations, Field Maintenance, Building Maintenance, and Custodial. These
four oversee the daily operations at the airport and focus on safety, efficiency, and cleanliness.
Finally, the Property Management Division handles the
oad view of the airport’s real estate
assets and seeks new commercial development. Having four divisions with a defined set of
esponsibilities helps Love Field work in an efficient and clear manner (“Love Notes”).
City/Region Information
Although many may think of Texas as the land of cowboys and guns, they may be
surprised to find out just how prestigious Dallas has become. According to the 2015 City of
Dallas Annual Report, “Dallas is the number one visitor and leisure destination in Texas and the
ninth largest city in the U.S. The city is also part of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the
country, with a population of 1.2 million. A modern and sophisticated city with the largest u
an
arts district in the nation, Dallas has more than 13 entertainment districts and is the ideal place to
discover the latest and greatest partnerships and attractions.”
Dallas is also a popular destination because of its sports teams. Visitors are made aware
pretty quickly of the dedicated fan-bases for the Dallas Cowboys, Mavericks, and Stars. The 420
million dollar American Airlines Center houses both the Mavericks and the Stars, boasting a
DALLAS LOVE FIELD 5
capacity of 18,500 people. The arena also hosts concerts and cultural events throughout the year,
making it a huge attraction for people in su
ounding cities and even su
ounding states.
Passenger Statistics
Figure 1. Dallas Love Field passenger statistics for the last five years.
As evident by the total enplanement and deplanement statistics for the last five years,
Dallas Love Field has been steadily growing in their operations (“Resources - Traffic Statistics”).
This is largely due to the relentlessness of Southwest in abolishing the outdated Wright
Amendment. When the Wright Amendment was finally lifted in October of 2014, the following
year saw almost double the amount of passenger traffic. This is a true testament to fighting the
odds, even when they were up against such an aviation giant as Dallas/Fort Worth. Although
they will never have the capacity to operate on the level of Dallas/Forth Worth, they are well on
their way to increased revenue and operational capacity that is staggering against their own past
statistics.
XXXXXXXXXX2011
Enplanements 7,267,625 4,724,225 4,245,996 4,101,399 4,009,471
Deplanements 7,229,873 4,689,411 4,224,590 4,072,528 3,973,373
Total 14,497,498 9,413,636 8,470,586 8,173,927 7,980,809
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
16,000,000
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DALLAS LOVE FIELD 6
The calendar-year-to-date statistics for September 2016 show an increase of 9.86% for
enplanements and 9.80% for deplanements over the 2015 statistics, proving that their prosperity
is continuing into this year as well. All of this growth also takes into account that three airlines,
Seaport, Skywest, and United, have all stopped service into the airport for the last year. Despite
losing some passengers to those airlines, Love Field has more than made up for them through
Southwest Airlines’ increased capacity
Airfield and Terminal
Figure 2. Airport Diagram for Dallas Love Field
Dallas Love Field covers an area of 1,300 acres and has three runways. It is at an
elevation of 487 feet above mean sea level. Runway 13L/31R was built in 1943 and extended in
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DALLAS LOVE FIELD 7
1952. It is 7,752 feet long and 150 feet wide, with a concrete surface. Runway 13R/31L was built
in 1965 and is 8,800 feet long and 150 feet wide with a concrete surface as well. Runway 18/36
was built in 1943 and is 6,147 feet long by 150 feet wide. It has an asphalt surface that is in good
condition.
There are a number of Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) on the field to provide services to
general aviation aircraft. These FBOs include Textar Aviation, Business Jet Center, Signature
Flight Support, Jet Aviation, and Dalfort Fueling (“AirNav: KDAL”). Pilots have many options
when it comes time to fuel, hangar, wash or even have maintenance done on their aircraft.
Additionally, Love Field is home