DALLAS — Love Field officials are recommending an increase in parking fees at the city-owned airport, saying demand needs to be reduced as travel returns to pre-pandemic levels.
Love Field wants to raise daily rates across its various parking options, with the biggest increases being in Garage B, where officials want to raise rates from $9 to $13 in the main area of the garage and $7 to $10 for the roof.
Mark Duebner, the city's director aviation and head of Love Field, will give a presentation to Dallas City Council on Wednesday about the proposed changes.
Here is the full list of price hikes recommended in Duebner's presentation:
- Garage A: $15 to $16
- Garage B (covered): $9 to $13
- Garage B (roof): $7 to $10
- Garage C: $15 to $16
- Garage C (roof): No change, still $13
- Garage C (premium: No change, still $25
- Garage C (valet): $26 to $28
In his presentation, Duebner said the price increases would "ensure availability for customers" parking at Love Field.
Duebner said the airport has seen availability dwindle as passenger travel has increased from pandemic lows. Within that, according to Duebner's presentation, leisure travelers have been more likely to drive to the airport themselves, rather than take cabs or rideshare services.
Duebner said that shows in data related to the average length of stay for vehicles.
In 2019, the average ticket for vehicles exiting the garage was about $27 for an average of 2.5 days. Currently, Duebner said, the average ticket is $35 with an average stay of more than three days.
Duebner said price increases could encourage vacation travelers to get a ride to the airport, rather than parking in the garages for an extended time.
"As customer demand returns to pre-pandemic levels, parking rates need to be adjusted to reduce demand," Duebner said in his presentation.
Data in Duebner's presentation showed the uptick in parking usage coming out of the pandemic.
In January, Love Field's daily car count in its three garages was 4,830, up from 2,906 the year before. By comparison, the car count for January 2020, before the pandemic, was 6,352.
Last fall's daily car counts also showed the stark increase in travel levels from the prior year. In October, the daily car count in Love Field's garages was 7,555, up from 3,628 the year before.
On Thanksgiving 2021, typically the busiest stretch of air travel, only 500 parking spaces were available across the three garages.
Love Field has about 10,361 parking spaces at $16 or less.
The city council would have to approve the parking increases before they're implemented.