Love Field: Into the Jet Age

Love Field: Into the Jet Age. . , July 12, 1959 - An American Airlines Boeing 707 becomes the first jet airliner to land at Love Field after a flight from New York's Idlewild (now John F. Kennedy International) Airport. Later, Lady Bird Johnson presses a button to start the first engine for the return trip, standing merely yards from where her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, would be inaugurated aboard Air Force One four years later., October 9, 1961 - John F. Kennedy is the first U.S. president to fly into Love Field during a short stay to visit the ailing Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House., 1962 - To accommodate the increasing operational needs of the airport, construction begins for a new runway on the west side, parallel to the main runway (13/31) on the Lemmon Avenue side. The 8,800-foot runway becomes operational in April 1965., November 22, 1963 - Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as the 36th president aboard Air Force One at Love Field, the first president to be inaugurated aboard an airplane and in the state of Texas., June 18, 1970 - An American Airlines "Astroliner" on a test flight is the first Boeing 747 to land at Love Field. Both American and Delta Air Lines begin regular 747 service from Love the following October., June 18, 1971 - Southwest Airlines begins flight operations from Love Field to cities within the state of Texas, surviving legal challenges to its operation from established airlines at the airport. The airline also states its intention not to move to the new Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Regional Airport, currently under construction., 1973 - Love Field becomes the tenth busiest airport in the world with over 6.6 million enplaned passengers during the calendar year. When the DFW Regional Airport begins operations the following January, Love's total passenger enplanements drop to less than 750,000 for 1974.