Dallas Smart Money was Wrong

I’m sitting at the DFW Airport this morning waiting on a plane to Lubbock. It is absolutely the worst hub airport as I always seem to have to get onto the tram that links the various terminals as opposed to being able to quickly walk to connecting gates at other airports. Today I had to go from C21 to B9, another 15 minute tram ride. I was at school in Dallas when DFW was being built, remembering the excitement of its completion.

At the time the smart money thought that DFW was the 8th wonder of the world. At the same time they also thought that Southwest Airlines didn’t stand a chance against mighty Braniff. They were wrong on both counts.

DFW was built in the pre-security world. The terminals were designed in giant circles so that passengers could drive right up to their gate, park their car and get onto their plane. It was a great system…for about 5 years. But in today’s world, it is a mess.

Those same experts didn’t understand how a pipsqueak airline like Southwest, with only 3 planes, could possibly compete against mighty Braniff Airlines with its hundreds, if not thousands of planes. When Southwest had to shrink to only 2 planes because of Braniff’s competition, it only reinforced their expert opinion. Again they were wrong.

Competitive environments change. What looks like a sure thing, often isn’t. The experts were wrong. Towns need to take the same approach. Often the sure thing, isn’t. And the LT company that is going to be in your town forever, isn’t. Times change and so must communities.