I initially penned
this years ago as it was occurring. With
a few updates, you may find this recollection of interest.
The Matson Legacy
Dallas-Fort Worth DAL ops is just a small fraction of what
it once was. I know that most of you all
know this. No-one, however, more than
those based at this once fantastic Delta airport. I recently non-revved through DFW on a trip
and was aghast. What a full blown tragedy! I believed Paul Matson should have been hung
by the thumbs then and I believe he should be tracked down and tomatoed
today. He single handedly sold DAL
management and the Board a total line of hogwash. His
major concept was that there isn’t a benefit of being number two at a major
hub. Simply because Paul came into the
industry and ascended to the ivory tower, while ATL had very little real
competition. What Paul didn’t understand
was other hub airports do and continue to have a healthy mix. His philosophy was centered on the idea that
you must always be on offense. But many
times a good defensive strategy is vital.
No matter what your opinion of the PanAm buy, the big thing was if DAL
didn’t do it then UAL or AA would get them and DAL would be forever boxed from
international expansion and in particular not become number one across the
Atlantic. An airline simply cannot start
a international operation the size of what PanAm had without a major drain, if
at all. So this Pan Am move was a good
example of playing good defense as well as later developing into a positive offensive
move. Months after the Pan Am deal DAL became the biggest across the Atlantic and
holds that high status to this day. So
in that respect, is has turned out to be a huge offensive move. Why do I say all this? Because in Dallas, DAL never took the
reasonable chance at a true offensive strategy to become kingpin. That was what it was. But did that mean, as Paul Matson believed, that DAL did not have an important presence
there? Absolutely not! When DAL pulled out, they handed AA a
$1Billion gift. What a colossal mistake
and it happened all because of misguided analysis of Paul Matson.
Years ago when Braniff went down, their 42% of DFW market
share was up for grabs. At the time DAL held 18% and AA held 21%. 6 mos later DAL made gains of a whopping 2% up
to a new high of 20% of DFW share. AA
moved assets from the east coast and Midwest
to immediately capture an incredible 40% of Braniff’s old share and never
looked back. Well, with those numbers
working against DAL (because of slow and lethargic decisiveness) one may think
that the DFW ops were not that important in the overall DAL picture. WRONG!
Matson was wrong! And all of
senior management was wrong to go along with him. The Board was wrong to sign off on it. And as DAL continues to gain strength from their
merger with NWA, the DFW move remains as one of the biggest FOPA’s of DAL’s
recent history.
When you pass through DFW and see empty gates, and an
occasional RJ, pause just to think about it.
It wasn’t business. It wasn’t
strategic. It wasn’t edgy. The move to de-hub DFW was lunacy and the
architect was Matson. Where do we find
these guys? Just one example of the
company somehow having the luck and strength to survive extreme mismanagement from
amateurs. Maybe this will cause you to
think of another example. If so, take a
moment and write it down and post it.
Mark
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