SAN ANTONIO – The ongoing fight between Southwest Airlines and the City of San Antonio continues to escalate.
The Dallas-based airline is making new allegations against the city in their dispute over the planned new terminal.
This dispute centers on the new terminal under construction at San Antonio International Airport. Southwest alleges the city promised them gates in the new terminal. Now, the airline claims, in a 44-page lawsuit, that they have proof the city never intended to provide them with gates, misled them during negotiations, and misled the court. Here’s a look at the lawsuit.
Southwest states that city documents and witnesses confirm the city designed and assigned gates in the new Terminal C based on their preference for certain airline services and their subjective belief as to which airlines would be a better fit.
Southwest claims it includes the desirability of each airline’s passenger profiles, such as business or leisure, and whether the airline was a low-cost provider or offered first-business class service or a VIP club experience.
They say this is why they were excluded from the new $1.7 billion Terminal C and relegated to the older and smaller Terminal A, where they currently operate. They are a low-cost provider and do not have VIP clubs.
The city states it went through a rigorous and thoughtful process with a master architect and engineer and never misled anyone.
Last fall, Southwest declined to sign its new long-term lease agreement and sued the city, operating on a month-to-month basis with higher operating costs ever since.
Both sides will next appear in federal court in late April.