Early airfields and airports grew from the use of airplanes for military, agricultural, airmail, and even aerial observation purposes. Equipped with grass or dirt runways, they were not very pleasant places for those passengers who first flew once US scheduled airline service began in 1926. Arriving and departing aircraft blasted dirt, pebbles, and grit into the passengers' faces as they walked exposed through all types of weather and climbed open stairways onto their planes. Eventually, procedures changed so that aircraft could warm up away from the passengers, then be pushed to the boarding area by hand with the engine off, boarded, and restarted with the doors closed. Many of these airfields originated as a result of the airmail system created in the United States just after World War I. As postal officials laid plans for a transcontinental airmail system between New York and San Francisco via Chicago in 1920, they persuaded many local communities to build the necessary facilities for the service in what became a “triumphal procession” across the country. Many of our largest airports can trace their beginnings back to those early days and this is the third installment in a series which will trace the growth and development of what are today some of the largest airports in the nation. Next up: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
The airport's predecessor was Dallas Love Field (DAL) which had its origins in 1917 when the Army announced it would establish a series of camps to train prospective pilots after the United States entered into World War I. The City of Dallas purchased the airport in 1928 and its first passenger service was conducted by the National Air Transport Company. On April 9, 1932, the first paved runways at the airfield were completed, and by March 1939 the airfield had 21 weekday airline departures, World War II saw Love Field used again for Army Air Force pilot training and further expansion occurred in the postwar years. In 1953, Fort Worth opened Amon Carter Field, which would later become the Greater Southwest International Airport, to compete with Love Field. Upon completion, all of the passenger airlines were transferred from Fort Worth's previous commercial airport, Meacham Field, to Greater Southwest, leaving Love Field and Greater Southwest as the two air transportation options for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In the ensuring years, Fort Worth attempted to negotiate with Dallas to collaborate on a new airport, but Dallas repeatedly declined that initiative. Over time however, both municipalities understood that would be in their best interest since expansion at both Meacham and Love Fields would require extensive construction to accommodate increasing air traffic and larger aircraft. So, after years of wrangling, an agreement was reached in1968 that would place a new airport between the two cities.
The new airport held an open house and dedication ceremony from September 20–23, 1973, which included the first landing of a supersonic Concorde in the United States, an Air France aircraft en route from Caracas to Paris. It opened for commercial service as the Dallas Fort Worth Regional Airport on January 13, 1974, at a cost of $700 million. At 17,207 acres, DFW is the second-largest airport by land area in the United States after the Denver International Airport covering an area larger than the Island of Manhattan in New York City. It has its own post office Zip Code (75261), and US Postal service city designation ("DFW Airport, TX”). The first flight to land was American Airlines Flight 341 from New York, which had stopped in Memphis and Little Rock. Shortly after the new airport was developed, the surrounding cities began to annex the airport property into their city limits and the name change to Dallas Fort Worth International occurred in 1985.
As every American Airlines flyer will attest, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is a linchpin and largest hub in the carrier's domestic network. The airport's growth has been inextricably linked to that of the airline and DFW has now expanded into a massive, dynamic global center of transportation with connections to hundreds of destinations around the world. What started as four terminals, three runways and 66 gates, the biggest airport in the world at the time, is now a hub for more than 73 million passengers. DFW was the second busiest airport in the world in 2022 after Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and now boasts five terminals with 168 gates and plans for expansion. With seven different runways, the airport is undeniably massive, but it was not always this way. A series of governmental and management decisions helped spur the airport's growth and turn it into the hub it is today. One of the main reasons for its exponential growth was the decision by American Airlines to move its corporate headquarters from New York to Texas in 1979.
Prior to that time, the benefits of being based in New York were difficult to understate due to the city’s reputation as a hub for domestic and international travel and the attractiveness of having headquarters operations located in close proximity to those of major Wall Street financial institutions. Wanting a big-name airline based at the new DFW Airport, then Director Ernest Dean and Airport Board Chairman Henry Stuart went to New York to confer with American. The pair told the carrier that if it moved its corporate offices to DFW, the airport would build a new reservations center and company headquarters. While this alone was a generous offer, other reasons further pushed American Airlines to make a move to Texas.
As anyone who has ever lived or worked in New York City knows, it’s very expensive. As is true today, their corporate tax rates were significantly higher in the late 70s than those in Dallas, Texas. American also knew this and realized that moving out of New York would save them millions and effectively give all their employees who relocated a pay increase. The lease was also soon to expire on its 250,000-square-foot Third Avenue corporate offices, and DFW was directly in the middle of the carrier's route system. American had been watching Braniff International Airways grow by operating flights from the center of its route system and wanted to replicate its success. New York City politicians were furious that the carrier was abandoning them for Texas. Still, the airline hit back, saying that city and state taxes were hurting its growth. They also pointed out that by moving to Texas, they could implement a 40-hour work week instead of the 37-hour work week in New York, a move that would increase productivity and revenue. American Airlines relocated its corporate headquarters to Texas in 1979 and established its first hub-and-spoke flights there in 1981.
Along with American, the airport has grown exponentially since that time. DFW now boasts seven runways and is the only airport in the world with four serviceable, paved runways longer than 13,123 feet. In 2022, the passenger traffic registered at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport amounted to over 72 million passengers which represented a year-over-year increase of more than 30% as passenger travel rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last May, the airport and American Airlines announced a massive expansion project that will include the construction of a sixth terminal expected to be complete by the end of 2026. The $4.8 billion project will include the construction of Terminal F, the renovation of Terminal C and other modernization projects. With that announcement, American signed a 10-year use and lease agreement, which replaces the 2010 agreement that expired in 2020 and was extended during the pandemic. “We are very proud that Fort Worth-based American Airlines has signed this important agreement to cement DFW’s status as American’s main hub and help us continue to meet the incredible demand we are experiencing in North Texas,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said. Terminal F will include a 15-gate concourse and amenities including modernized baggage handling, expanded concessions and additional passenger gates. The cost is projected at $1.63 billion. Terminal C, a hub for American, will be renovated at a cost of $2.72 billion. The expansion will add 24 gates. The work is designed to prepare both the airport and the airline for the expected growth in air travel.
In 2023, the airport saw over 80 million travelers and current predictions call for 100 million passengers to pass through its terminals within the next five to seven years. DFW will be poised to handle these numbers while building on their half century of service to North Texas.
Until next time…safe travels.
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