Virgin America can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as they finally get the gates they been desiring at Dallas Love Field Airport.
Virgin America Airbus A319 taxing at Dallas Fort Worth – Image GhettoIFE
The airline will sub-lease two gates from American Airlines (which the airline is forced to give up due to the AA/US merger), allowing Virgin America to commence operations from there.
The airline has been selling tickets for routes from Dallas Love Field to Los Angeles LAX, New York-LGA, San Francisco, and Washington DC (DCA) since April, but has been campaigning to actually get the gates it needs. The approval was given by Dallas City Manager – A.C. Gonzalez after a protracted process.
This will make Dallas Love Field a “Focus City” – its first outside its California homes.
In turn, Virgin America will move all its operations from Dallas Fort-Worth (The American Airlines Fortress Hub) to Love Field.
Dallas Love Field is home to Southwest Airlines (who were also vying for the lease of the gates), who control 16 out of 20 gates at the airport.
Virgin America offers a two class service, with the typical Virgin trimmings compared to other domestic carriers, but hasn’t made that much of a splash in terms of size network to rival existing legacy airlines. They operate a fleet of Airbus A319s and A320s – with orders for A320neos and A320s.