Fall 2001 - Summer 2002

The nation's air system was shut down for three days. Airlines began repositioning their aircraft on Friday and by Saturday they were attempting to get passengers and crew where they needed to be.

To say the terrorist attacks and their aftermath put a chill on the demand for air travel would be an understatement. The number of passengers traveling by air plunged. Airlines laid off employees by the thousands and parked planes in the desert.

In light of the terrorist attacks, DFW's hotel imposion party was postponed and over at Love Field, American Airlines discontinued all service less than two weeks before the gates they had fought so long and hard for were to have opened.

Going through security became a nightmare. Cars were searched as they entered airports. Rules were inconsistent from airport to airport. Passengers were advised to arrive at least two hours before their flight. Curbside check-in was eliminated and many close-in parking spaces were closed with the new security measures.

Security breaches became commonplace and entire airports were evacuated and shut down for hours as concourses were searched and passengers were rescreened.

A Dallas Business Journal editorial noted:

Even if people overcome their fear of hijacking, they may not overcome their disdain for new security restrictions. Consider that Southwest Airlines' bread and butter in Texas is short-haul flights from Love Field to Austin, Houston and San Antonio -- quick flights, no hassle, almost no one checks a bag unless forced.

What happens when that formerly quick flight now involves arriving two hours in advance and checking all but the smallest of bags? For many business travelers, driving may seem like a luxury by comparison.

Roughly half of airport revenue comes from airline landing and terminal fees, while parking, rental car fees, retail and food-concession fees are also heavy contributors. When passenger traffic falls, all of those revenue sources suffer.

As a result, the nation's commercial airports prepared to ask Congress for as much as $1 billion in financial relief, reflecting plunging revenue and sharply higher expenses to meet new government-mandated security requirements. Congress was already set to consider a rescue plan for airlines.

DFW Airport, where traffic wasn't expected to reach 2000-levels until 2005 implemented $10 million in budget cuts including a hiring freeze and the elimination of certain training programs

Meanwhile, back in Washington DC, Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, introduced a bill that would have allowed American Airlines to keep the flight that Trans World Airlines had between Los Angeles and National for the past 10 months. That nonstop flight grew out of a deal reached in 2001 by congressional negotiators after years of lobbying to expand the number of flights at National.

The article noted that:

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded TWA's long-distance flight to Alaska Airlines after TWA declared bankruptcy and was acquired by American in April. Starting Sept. 4, Alaska Airlines will fly between Washington and Seattle, leaving Los Angeles again with no nonstop flight to National.

Some Virginia lawmakers and residents said the Boxer proposal proves their belief that once cross-country flights were allowed at National, attempts to add more would surely follow.

National's perimeter rule went into effect in 1966, when flights were limited to 650 miles. As demand for commercial jet service increased, Congress expanded the airport's perimeter. Airport officials say that relatively small National was always intended for shorter trips along the East Coast. The much larger Dulles International Airport was designed to accommodate future growth and cross-country flights, in addition to international travel.

Allowing more long-distance flights at National, airport officials say, would upset that balance. Nonstop cross-country flights are more lucrative to airlines than shorter flights, and some aviation officials say airlines would be more willing to drop some of their shorter hauls at National in favor of long ones.

Mark Slitt, a spokesman for American Airlines, said American's planes on the Los Angeles route are more modern and quiet than older aircraft. American is already flying the type of plane that would be used between Washington and Los Angeles -- a 737 or 757 -- in and out of National, he said. "Once the airplane wheels leave the tarmac, it's sort of irrelevant where that plane goes," Slitt said.

That is precisely Southwest's argument today in wanting the right to fly long-haul out of Dallas Love Field. Obviously, if a change is good for American Airlines, then that's ok. If it benefits Southwest or Love Field, then it's not.

By July of 2002, air traffic as a whole was beginning to rebound, but traffic was still down on the nation's short-haul flights. Many people, particularly business travelers, were unwilling to risk long lines at check-in counters or security checkpoints for short flights, For many, driving or taking the train was now faster than flying and that's what many travelers did -- just as the Dallas Business Journal editorial had predicted.

Many airlines, including Southwest reduced their flights of less than 500 miles, while adding long-haul service.

Although Southwest cut 16 short-haul flights out of Love Field, they were unable to replace those flights with long-haul service as they did at other airports due to the limitations of the Wright amendment. Passenger traffic at Love Field began to shrink.

Tune - Hit the Road, Jack
Ray Charles

(Sung by short-haul flyers)

(Instrumental intro)

Hit the road jack - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul no more, no more, no more
We won't be back - We ain't gonna fly no more.

Hit the road jack - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul, no more, no more, no more
Drivin's faster - security is just a chore

September 11, we went through hell
Airplanes crashed and towers fell
That fateful day - our lives - CHANGED
A whole new world and it seemed deranged

Gas the car up - we ain't gonna fly
Short haul, no more, no more, no more
Buckle up, now - we ain't gonna fly no more

Sit in traffic - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul, no more, no more, no more,
Clog the freeways - we ain't gonna fly no more.

Now travel's a nightmare - we've got the blues,
Long lines - now we take off shoes
Even now there are people gettin' pulled off planes
It seems that the whole world's gone insane
Yes that's the brand-new way
And we can thank the TSA!

Extra screening - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul no more, no more, no more
Missed connections - we ain't gonna fly no more

Hit the road jack - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul no more, no more, no more
We won't go back - we ain't comin' back for more.

(If it's not far)
(We'll go by car)
(If it's not far)
(We'll go by car)

(Travel used to be a breeze)
(We passed through air-ports with ease)
(Now you've brought us to our knees and)
(You make us pay extra fees)

Air the tires up - we ain't gonna fly
Short haul no more, no more, no, more
We're all fired up - we ain't gonna fly no more

Grab your car keys - we ain't gonna fly
Short-haul no more, no more, no more
Get the roadmaps - we ain't gonna fly no more,

(Security's just a chore)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)
(We've had it - we're declarin' war)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)
(Listen to our engines roar)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)
(Security's just a chore)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)
(We've had it - we're declarin' war)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)
(Listen to our engines roar)
(Ain't gonna fly no more)