Up and away:
Southwest expands.
Good news for travelers: Some
low-cost carriers are busy expanding service around the country,
and in several cities heated competition is driving down
fares. n
In just the last month, AirTran, JetBlue, Song, Southwest
Airlines and USA 3000 all announced new routes. While the news
spelled trouble for competing legacy carriers, air travelers can
look forward to more choices and lower prices.
For example: Fares on Southwest, which will begin service May 4
out of Pittsburgh International Airport, once the primary hub of US
Airways, are as cheap as $29 one way to Chicago’s Midway or to
Philadelphia.
Also as of May 4, Orlando-based AirTran will commence flights
from Charlotte, N.C., (another US Airways hub) to HartsfieldJackson
Atlanta International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International
Airport and Boston Logan.
“For a number of years, Charlotte has been plagued by the
highest fares in the country. That changes on May 4,” stated Robert
Fornaro, president/COO of AirTran.
The addition of Southwest to Pittsburgh is a significant boost
to that city’s fortunes, according to Joe McGrath, president and
CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It
adds legitimacy to our product,” said McGrath. “We’ve got a
wonderful airport, and now we have the most profitable airline in
the United States.”
In Charlotte, Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, chief solutions officer with
Bonnie Wallsh Associates LLC, said of AirTran’s expansion, “We are
absolutely thrilled. US Airways has been 91 percent of the airlift
in Charlotte, which means I’d drive to neighboring cities to take
flights out, because of how expensive it has been to fly from
Charlotte.”
