Following the Alaska Airlines/Virgin America merger, I’ve often wondered what happens to Dallas. Specifically, Alaska flies from DFW and Virgin flies from Love Field, so which would win out? Well, it appears that we now have our answer. Wednesday brought a big announcement about Alaska Airlines Dallas Love Field service changes. The gist: several new cities starting this summer, but at the cost of smaller planes to existing destinations.
More Destinations from Dallas Love Field
First, the good news. Love Field flyers enjoy four new West Coast destinations: Portland, Seattle, San Diego, and San Jose. Seattle (twice daily) and Portland service begins August 27, while San Diego and San Jose commence February 16. One Seattle flight will use a Virgin America Airbus A320. All other flights, however, operate using Sky West Embraer E-175s.
|
Start date |
City pair |
Departs |
Arrives |
Aircraft |
Frequency |
|
Aug. 27 |
Dallas-Seattle |
10:20 a.m. |
12:48 p.m. |
A320 family |
Daily |
|
Aug. 27 |
Seattle-Dallas |
1:30 p.m. |
7:45 p.m. |
A320 family |
Daily |
|
Aug. 27 |
Seattle-Dallas |
9:45 a.m. |
3:45 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Aug. 28 |
Dallas-Seattle |
3:38 p.m. |
5:55 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Aug. 27 |
Portland-Dallas |
6 a.m. |
11:44 a.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Aug. 28 – Oct. 27 |
Dallas-Portland |
10:35 a.m. |
12:40 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Oct. 28 |
Dallas-Portland |
7:28 p.m. |
9:32 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Feb. 16 |
Dallas-San Diego |
8:39 p.m. |
9:54 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Feb. 16 |
San Diego-Dallas |
7:45 a.m. |
12:45 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Feb. 16 |
Dallas-San Jose |
1:25 p.m. |
3:15 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
|
Feb. 16 |
San Jose-Dallas |
2:40 p.m. |
7:59 p.m. |
E175 |
Daily |
Portland and Seattle complement existing twice daily (Portland) and thrice daily (Seattle) Alaska service from DFW. More on that in a moment. San Diego and San Jose, however, represent brand new Alaska options for the Metroplex.
A likely secondary motive: Alaska doesn’t exactly love Delta. Delta, of course, desperately wants to expand at Love Field. Keeping those two gates utilized allows Alaska to prevent Delta from getting its mitts on them. Which I’m sure amuses Alaska’s execs, even if they hadn’t thought of it at the time…
The Trade-Off: Downgrades to Regional Jets on Existing Routes
On the other hand, some existing routes pay the price for the new service. Virgin America A320 service to New York-LaGuardia and Washington-Reagan is set to downgrade to 76-seat E-175s. This represents a significant downgrade in two ways. First, the drop from 149 to 76 seats nearly halves capacity on both routes, though LaGuardia also gets a new, fourth flight each day. But second, this constitutes a substantial product downgrade in the pointy end. Virgin America’s First Class easily qualifies as the best domestic First, with 55-inch pitch, gourmet meals, and more.
So what about Alaska’s Regional First on the E-175? The 1-2 configuration is nice, as are the 4 additional seats. But the seat itself is standard-fare domestic First. (Note: this is actually an American E-175 seat.)
I also believe, but am not certain, that SkyWest operated flights include only snacks in first, with more substantial boxed meals available for purchase. Also, while the microbrews are nice, only beer and wine are free. Cocktails must be purchased for a fee. (Update: per reader Jake, hard liquor is indeed free in First, even on regional flights.) Perhaps an Alaska frequent flyer on longer SkyWest routes can confirm. If this is correct, it’s a pretty underwhelming product for a 4-ish hour flight. Of course, I’m not surprised about the downgrade. It’s been rumored for years that Virgin hemorrhages money on its Love Field flights. So, “right-sizing” equipment probably makes sense.
The good news is, if you booked a Virgin America flight set to be downgraded, Alaska plans to take care of you. Reportedly, you’ll receive a refund of your airfare, AND still have the option of keeping your seat. That’s pretty generous.
About Those DFW Flights…
Now this has me pretty confused. Taking a peek at Alaska’s schedule post-change, they still sell flights out of DFW. Except, I’m not sure that’s actually allowed. The A320 flight to Seattle is marketed as a Virgin America flight, which should be fine. Virgin already flies from DAL, after all. But all other flights show up as Alaska-operated flights, which currently operates at DFW. And that, I think, is the issue.
My understanding of the Five Party Agreement that lifted the Wright Amendment restrictions is that it prohibits airlines from operating at both airports until 2025, if they didn’t already do so at the time the agreement was signed. Virgin America, in fact, surrendered its gates at DFW when it moved to Love Field in 2014. On the other hand, after re-reading the agreement for this article, it looks like it technically only applies to American and Southwest. Except the agreement specifies American “or an affiliate or code share partner”. Alaska does codeshare with American at DFW, albeit in a reduced capacity, so shouldn’t the restriction apply?
It sure seems like it should. Scott speculates that Alaska is crossing its fingers for a rule change, which is possible. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though, given the dysfunction over at Dallas City Hall. It’s also possible the next shoe to drop is an announcement that Alaska is abandoning DFW. Or I could be wrong about the prohibition, and we’ll see service at both airports continuing merrily along.
Final Thoughts
I’m always excited about new competition, and new opportunities to earn valuable Alaska Mileage Plan miles to the West Coast is a positive. On the other hand, it’s sort of a bummer that virtually everything is regional jet service. It’s even more of a bummer that some existing Virgin routes downgrade over the next several months. I’m also curious to see what, if anything, happens to Alaska’s existing DFW service.
