Grumpy
10-02-2008, 08:18 AM
Southwest Airlines, long coveted by Minnesota travelers, will begin flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Humphrey terminal in March.
By LIZ FEDOR (http://www.startribune.com/bios/10644826.html), Star Tribune
Last update: October 2, 2008 - 12:13 AM
Southwest Airlines, long coveted by Minnesota travelers, will begin flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in March.
The low-fare airline, which now carries more U.S. passengers than any other airline, will initiate service here with at least eight to 10 daily departures to Chicago's Midway Airport, according to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly.
From Midway, Southwest flies nonstop to 47 cities, including four in Florida and six in California.
Tickets on the Twin Cities-Chicago route currently are "very high priced," Kelly said in a Wednesday interview. "We love it when we find city-pair markets that are overpriced and underserved."
Tom Parsons, CEO of www.bestfares.com (http://www.bestfares.com/), said the Southwest development is huge. Southwest "saw high prices where they could come in and drop your prices like a rock," Parsons said. He added that Southwest also will appeal to consumers because it doesn't charge any fees for the first two checked bags. Northwest and many other big carriers now levy bag fees, such as $15 for the first bag on Northwest.
"You probably have 100 U.S. cities who are envious of Minneapolis, because they want Southwest," Parsons said.
Jack Lanners, chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, described the Southwest announcement as "a real coup." The MAC has been courting Southwest for more than a decade, and Lanners flew to Texas this year to make a pitch for Twin Cities service.
"Southwest brings a positive attitude to flying at a great price," Lanners said.
Kelly predicted that fares between the Twin Cities and Chicago will fall, as will fares to connecting cities out of Chicago. Northwest, United and American all provide nonstop Chicago service.
"The outlook for next year is a little dubious for our economy, for the airline industry and for Southwest Airlines," Kelly said. "You couple that with very high fuel prices and it's just a time for us to be very cautious."
By LIZ FEDOR (http://www.startribune.com/bios/10644826.html), Star Tribune
Last update: October 2, 2008 - 12:13 AM
Southwest Airlines, long coveted by Minnesota travelers, will begin flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in March.
The low-fare airline, which now carries more U.S. passengers than any other airline, will initiate service here with at least eight to 10 daily departures to Chicago's Midway Airport, according to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly.
From Midway, Southwest flies nonstop to 47 cities, including four in Florida and six in California.
Tickets on the Twin Cities-Chicago route currently are "very high priced," Kelly said in a Wednesday interview. "We love it when we find city-pair markets that are overpriced and underserved."
Tom Parsons, CEO of www.bestfares.com (http://www.bestfares.com/), said the Southwest development is huge. Southwest "saw high prices where they could come in and drop your prices like a rock," Parsons said. He added that Southwest also will appeal to consumers because it doesn't charge any fees for the first two checked bags. Northwest and many other big carriers now levy bag fees, such as $15 for the first bag on Northwest.
"You probably have 100 U.S. cities who are envious of Minneapolis, because they want Southwest," Parsons said.
Jack Lanners, chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, described the Southwest announcement as "a real coup." The MAC has been courting Southwest for more than a decade, and Lanners flew to Texas this year to make a pitch for Twin Cities service.
"Southwest brings a positive attitude to flying at a great price," Lanners said.
Kelly predicted that fares between the Twin Cities and Chicago will fall, as will fares to connecting cities out of Chicago. Northwest, United and American all provide nonstop Chicago service.
"The outlook for next year is a little dubious for our economy, for the airline industry and for Southwest Airlines," Kelly said. "You couple that with very high fuel prices and it's just a time for us to be very cautious."