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02:33 AM CDT on Thursday, April 20, 2006
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Never have 20,000 people screamed so loud for American Airlines Inc.
It took giving the fans at the Dallas Mavericks' Fan Appreciation Night free tickets on American's flights at Dallas Love Field to do it, but Dan Garton, the carrier's top marketing executive, said the roar was louder than he expected. "What a rush," Mr. Garton said of the din that followed what he called the carrier's biggest ticket giveaway.
In front of fans between the first and second quarters, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban playfully urged Mr. Garton to extend his initial offer of free tickets for the players and staff to all fans.
"They're going to compare all future promotions to this one," Mr. Cuban said after the event. "This was big."
VERNON BRYANT / DMN
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dan Garton of American Airlines made the announcement between quarters of Wednesday's game.
Along with about 20,000 ticket vouchers given away at the game, the promotion gave away 1,000 tickets to viewers who used mobile phones to text-message promotional codes.
The free tickets have limits. They're good only for American's service from Dallas Love Field. That means lucky fans can fly to Austin or San Antonio on American Eagle or to St. Louis or Kansas City on American.
They have to be booked by April 30 for travel through Nov. 12. Passengers will have to pay airport charges and some federal taxes too, so while the airfare is free, the total ticket really isn't.
Love Field service
"Sure I'll go!" said Jeremy Hughes of Burleson, while waiting in line for some ice cream. "I've never been to St. Louis. It seems like a good idea for the airline – good advertising for them."
American re-launched service at Love on March 2 to combat flights to St. Louis and Kansas City that Southwest Airlines Co. started in December.
Last fall, Missouri became the eighth state that can be served by commercial flights from Love, as part of Southwest's campaign to repeal the Wright amendment.
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American opposes any changes to the Wright law. The carrier says it's serving Love only to protect its share of customers that might prefer the city facility to its giant hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Unknown cost
It's unclear how much the offer will cost American. The last-minute fare to St. Louis was $268 roundtrip Wednesday evening, according to American's Web site, and a roundtrip to Austin cost $232.
But the airline expects only about a quarter of the fans who received the vouchers for free tickets will use them.
Jhermaine Wilson of Grand Prairie said he won't use the voucher. "I don't have time for travel," said Mr. Wilson, who recruits for the Army.
It's not as if American's flights from Love are jammed anyway. All but weekend flights appear to have plenty of seats available at low fares, according to the carrier's Web site.
The Love Field flights are about 50 percent to 60 percent full overall, Mr. Garton told reporters after the event. The move was simply good marketing, not an effort to fill half-full planes, he said.
'In a real battle'
"It's not desperation – it's aggressive competition," Mr. Garton said. "Look, we're in a real battle at Love. We've done a lot of 10-percent-off deals, but we don't do a lot of deals for 100 percent off."
American chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said Wednesday that the results at Love have been "encouraging compared to what we had forecast."
Other American executives have said the Love flights are not profitable.
The free ticket idea came from a few marketing employees about five or six weeks ago, but took a lot of persuasion at the airline to make it happen, Mr. Garton said. He had to go through the plan alone with Mr. Arpey to convince him it would pay off in the long run.
American estimates that those who do take the free ticket will persuade friends and family to come along and buy tickets themselves, diminishing the revenue impact. The giveaway might even make the airline more money than if it hadn't tried it, he said.
American expects Southwest to react, as does Mr. Cuban.
"I imagine there was a run on Wild Turkey," Mr. Cuban speculated, referring to the spirit of choice for many top Southwest executives.
02:33 AM CDT on Thursday, April 20, 2006
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Never have 20,000 people screamed so loud for American Airlines Inc.
It took giving the fans at the Dallas Mavericks' Fan Appreciation Night free tickets on American's flights at Dallas Love Field to do it, but Dan Garton, the carrier's top marketing executive, said the roar was louder than he expected. "What a rush," Mr. Garton said of the din that followed what he called the carrier's biggest ticket giveaway.
In front of fans between the first and second quarters, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban playfully urged Mr. Garton to extend his initial offer of free tickets for the players and staff to all fans.
"They're going to compare all future promotions to this one," Mr. Cuban said after the event. "This was big."
VERNON BRYANT / DMN
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dan Garton of American Airlines made the announcement between quarters of Wednesday's game.
Along with about 20,000 ticket vouchers given away at the game, the promotion gave away 1,000 tickets to viewers who used mobile phones to text-message promotional codes.
The free tickets have limits. They're good only for American's service from Dallas Love Field. That means lucky fans can fly to Austin or San Antonio on American Eagle or to St. Louis or Kansas City on American.
They have to be booked by April 30 for travel through Nov. 12. Passengers will have to pay airport charges and some federal taxes too, so while the airfare is free, the total ticket really isn't.
Love Field service
"Sure I'll go!" said Jeremy Hughes of Burleson, while waiting in line for some ice cream. "I've never been to St. Louis. It seems like a good idea for the airline – good advertising for them."
American re-launched service at Love on March 2 to combat flights to St. Louis and Kansas City that Southwest Airlines Co. started in December.
Last fall, Missouri became the eighth state that can be served by commercial flights from Love, as part of Southwest's campaign to repeal the Wright amendment.
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Series could be a grind
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American opposes any changes to the Wright law. The carrier says it's serving Love only to protect its share of customers that might prefer the city facility to its giant hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Unknown cost
It's unclear how much the offer will cost American. The last-minute fare to St. Louis was $268 roundtrip Wednesday evening, according to American's Web site, and a roundtrip to Austin cost $232.
But the airline expects only about a quarter of the fans who received the vouchers for free tickets will use them.
Jhermaine Wilson of Grand Prairie said he won't use the voucher. "I don't have time for travel," said Mr. Wilson, who recruits for the Army.
It's not as if American's flights from Love are jammed anyway. All but weekend flights appear to have plenty of seats available at low fares, according to the carrier's Web site.
The Love Field flights are about 50 percent to 60 percent full overall, Mr. Garton told reporters after the event. The move was simply good marketing, not an effort to fill half-full planes, he said.
'In a real battle'
"It's not desperation – it's aggressive competition," Mr. Garton said. "Look, we're in a real battle at Love. We've done a lot of 10-percent-off deals, but we don't do a lot of deals for 100 percent off."
American chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said Wednesday that the results at Love have been "encouraging compared to what we had forecast."
Other American executives have said the Love flights are not profitable.
The free ticket idea came from a few marketing employees about five or six weeks ago, but took a lot of persuasion at the airline to make it happen, Mr. Garton said. He had to go through the plan alone with Mr. Arpey to convince him it would pay off in the long run.
American estimates that those who do take the free ticket will persuade friends and family to come along and buy tickets themselves, diminishing the revenue impact. The giveaway might even make the airline more money than if it hadn't tried it, he said.
American expects Southwest to react, as does Mr. Cuban.
"I imagine there was a run on Wild Turkey," Mr. Cuban speculated, referring to the spirit of choice for many top Southwest executives.
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