Southwest to Serve Boston

The Boston Globe reports that low cost carrier Southwest Airlines will be serving Boston’s Logan Airport beginning sometime in the fall. The launch will apparently be somewhat conservative, with 8 to 12 daily departures to just a few destinations to start. The airline will be unveiling details sometime in the spring.

Southwest serves the Boston area through Manchester, Providence, and Hartford. Only in the last few years has it started venturing into larger airports once thought to be too expensive for its low-fare model. Chief Executive Gary Kelly says that the 27 nonstop departures from Manchester and 31 from Providence will continue as the majority of flights out of the area. But launching some service to Boston will achieve their goal of luring more business travellers into their route network.

We predict that Southwest will start with a few flights to its hubs at Chicago-Midway and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and perhaps add in a few to Orlando, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale for leisure travellers. The connections at Midway and BWI will ensure access to most of the airline’s route network as well as provide for point-to-point travel.

What do you think?

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