Dallas Love Field is undergoing planning for a major terminal overhaul that includes the introduction of passenger lounges — a feature long absent at the airport. Meanwhile, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan has publicly affirmed the carrier’s interest in adding lounge access to its product lineup.
Dallas Aviation Director Patrick Carreno noted the goal of improving the passenger experience during an interview with NBC DFW, saying, “The most important is the customer, the passenger experience.”
As part of the renovation, Love Field plans to expand the concourse by pushing outward walls and moving the jet bridges 50 feet to create additional room for seating, concessions, restrooms—and lounges.
“So we’re looking at how many lounges can we fit in here and where do they go,” Carreno added.
Carreno noted that Southwest is expected to fund most of the project, with the City of Dallas also playing a role. Though the total cost could reach “a billion or so range,” the plan is designed to function without adding gates, which federal law prohibits.
The gate restriction stems from the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006, which capped Love Field at 20 gates as part of a compromise to end decades of restrictions on long-haul flights from the airport. The law prevents additional gate construction to balance competition between Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Only two airlines serve the airport: Delta and Southwest. Alaska ended service to the Dallas airport in May.
Not only is it the airline’s home airport, but Love Field is also Southwest’s sixth-largest station by number of flights, with around 200 daily departures.
Southwest operates roughly 97% of Love Field’s total daily commercial flights, according to schedule data from Cirium.
The carrier’s CEO Bob Jordan has begun signaling that lounge offerings are under consideration. Speaking to CNBC earlier this year, Jordan remarked:
“Whatever customers need in 2025, 2030, we won’t take any of that off the table. We know we have customers that want things we can’t provide — like a lounge, like true premium, like long-haul international.”
Major construction at Love Field is slated to begin in 2027 and extend over approximately six years.
