Mike Boyd,
www.aviationplanning.com--
More Fancy Dancin' From
DFW International Airport
They can't really be paying for consultants to create this stuff.
We're talking about the klutzy PR campaign being put on by DFW International Airport to get Southwest to move over from Love Field.
First, they came out with an "independent" study the "findings" and delivery of which looked like a bad plot for a Harry Potter movie, and just about as consistent with reality.
Last week, the fantasy continued. With a straight face, they announced the results of a poll taken to get the public's opinion whether they want Southwest service at DFW.
The question, according to the media, plumbed deep into the subject matter, asking,
"Would you like to see Southwest Airlines fly out of DFW Airport?"
Holy Gallup, Batman! A whopping 85% said yes! (Well, not actually, but that's the way it was spun to the media.)
For those of us in the air service development business, this really is an incredible bit of information, and it raises what may be a security-related issue for the Metroplex: Where were the other 15% of the population? Have they been spirited away by evil terrorists? Kidnapped? Held up in North Dakota against their will?
Well actually, the poll wasn't conducted in the entire Metroplex, but only among passengers at, you guessed it, DFW airport.
But, still, the results are amazing. DFW asked passengers if they would like service from an airline offering low fares, excellent service, and outstanding reliability, and 15% of the population said no?
Actually, only 69% said yes. The 85% figure resulted from DFW removing the respondents who answered "Don't Know." Like with DFW's silly "study" from a few weeks ago, this looks painfully like more spin than substance.
In any event, asking the question at all was dumb, and insulting to the public. DFW posed a simplistic question, the answer to which is obvious, and then postured it all like they're Madame Curie, and they've just discovered radium.
The whole intent is to make Southwest look like they're not giving the public what it wants. Furthermore, it's a stretch to posture this response as being the public "urging" Southwest to come to DFW.
Are Billboards Next? Media reports indicated also that DFW International, in its quest to get Southwest service, has resorted to the type of amateur theatrics usually expected from the Chamber of Commerce at East Upchuck, Iowa. Aside from silly veneer "studies" and public opinion polls, DFW even hired a small airplane to drag a banner over Love Field with the message, "Travelers Want Southwest at DFW NOW!" Sort of like what liquor companies used to do at college football games, having a Cessna 172 pulling signs hyping cheap hooch... "Royal Canadian, Now $6.98 A Quart!"
Can't wait to see what's next from DFW. No telling what their PR company might think up next. Gee, how 'bout something really innovative? Got it! Let's send a bottle of, say, Wild Turkey, to Herb Kelleher, dressed up to look like Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, brandishing a .357, with the tag line, "Go Ahead, Make My Airport."
Or, maybe a billboard on Mockingbird, right at the crowded, congested entrance to Love Field. It'll depict two adorable small children, crying uncontrollably, with the tag line, "Daddy'd be home by now if nasty old Southwest rented 22 gates at DFW, moved its headquarters there, transferred a couple hundred thousand square feet of maintenance space, and spent tens of millions of dollars doing it. Herb Kelleher, you don't care about my Daddy!"
Or, something really, well, aggressively tacky, as one small East Coast airport did, sending a giant post card accusing Southwest of being the Grinch that Stole Christmas for not coming to town. It's the type of amateur, trite schtick that's been used for years by Chambers of Commerce at speed-trap towns all across America, and it's not much different than the type of stuff DFW's been doing.
That's the unfortunate part. Here we have DFW International, one of the nation's most efficient and important airports, a major international crossroads, and the future #2 gateway to China and Asia, groveling around like some small rural berg begging Southwest to come to their airport.
Standby For Some Hard Perspectives. Our study The Wright Amendment - Now For Some Facts will be issued this Friday. Please do not expect the type of intellectual ping-pong stuff that's been driveled out by both sides in this airport cat fight.
The data reveals a number of interesting issues, most of which have been blissfully ignored so far. For example:
Why it might be in American Airlines' best strategic interests to let the Wright Amendment be repealed.
The enormous risks to Southwest - no matter how the deal gets done.
What may be the outcomes for Love Field itself under several scenarios, including repeal, retaining, or modifying the Wright Amendment.
Historical events indicate Love isn't that loved by Metroplex consumers.
This is an analysis that was done without any input from any of the players in this controversy. As our clients - including some new ones - have found, we tell it like it is. We believe a consultant should be there to bring new perspectives, not blindly parrot the party line.
The study will be shipped this Friday, and can be ordered by clicking here.