The REAL Reason........Why Airlines Lose Money.
If you want to know why airlines either make very little money or lose money then come to the Dallas-Ft Worth area and compare and contrast South-West Airlines and American Airlines. South-West Airlines has consistently been profitable while airlines like American have had shaky results.
So why does South-West Airlines do well while American flounders? The ***PRIMARY*** reason are the airports that the airlines use. Dallas's Love Field is a small but HIGHLY efficient airport which South-West flies out of. DFW Airport is a giant and a HIGHLY ineffcient airport which American flies out of. When you fly out of Love Field you board the plane, taxi to the runway, and leave. At DFW you board, wait, then taxi to a line, then wait, taxi some more, then wait, and eventually you leave. ALL THIS TIME ON THE GROUND COST BIG BUCKS and when your profit margins are slim you can easily lose your ass. DFW has been offering a lot of carrots for South-West to move to DFW but South-West has kept telling them to go screw themselves. They need DFW like they need a bullet in the head. As for militant unions and bad management, these are seconadary reasons for poor preformance. South-West makes a point to avoid the major hubs which results in more time on the ground.
The bottom line is urban planning for airports is terrible. It would be much better for a major metropolis to have four smaller airports then one giant MEGA airport. Doing so means less time burning fuel on the ground, quicker trips, and more satisfied customers. The problem is people hate living next to airports, much less four airports spread thoughout the area. Also, the bond holders of the major airports would scream murder if 75% of the gates wear closed so that air traffic could be spread around. At DFW, those morons built a new terminal so DFW is in a huge economic bind to find an airline that will move in to start paying rent.
The solution is for major urban areas; build four smaller airports (25-30 gates) and let the major airports die like the dinosaurs that they are. As for the bond holders, you will get screwed for your bad investment.
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