Bill Nelson
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[size=+1]Southwest Airlines to add flights from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh [/size]
Feb 18, 2005 (The Philadelphia Inquirer - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- In a move that will bring a drastic reduction in fares, Southwest Airlines announced plans yesterday to start flying in May between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, long an expensive, US Airways monopoly route.
Southwest, which started service to Philadelphia last May, said it would have four round-trips a day to Pittsburgh when it begins service there May 4. The discounter said it would also have nonstops from Pittsburgh four times daily to Chicago Midway Airport, and once a day to both Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.
In a second assault on US Airways, AirTran Airways, another low-cost carrier, said yesterday that it would start flights from Charlotte, N.C., US Airways' largest hub, the same day Southwest launches Pittsburgh service. AirTran said it would fly between Charlotte and two cities, Atlanta and Baltimore.
Southwest will have introductory one-way fares of $29 plus tax between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and a top one-way price of $79 plus tax for refundable tickets bought at the last minute. The fare on US Airways for a refundable ticket bought yesterday for travel today was $730.40, according to the usairways.com Web site.
Pittsburgh, once US Airways' largest hub, experienced a reduction in service last year when the beleaguered airline reduced its flights from more than 400 a day to 239 as part of its effort to cut costs while operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart, who was in Pittsburgh for the airline's announcement, said the Philadelphia service "is an obvious one, when you consider Southwest's history of primarily doing short-haul, high-frequency service. With the fare announcement and the frequency, it will act as an incubator and stimulate tremendous traffic."
Airline industry analysts said Southwest had not been expected to start its Pittsburgh service with Philadelphia flights.
"You can always count on Southwest for some surprise," said Kevin P. Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor-based Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy group for companies and travelers. "It's going to have a huge negative impact on US Airways ... and it's going to stimulate activity between the business communities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."
US Airways Group Inc. spokesman David Castelveter said it was too soon to know whether the airline would change its schedules to meet the new competition in Pittsburgh.
"We're still the largest airline in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh," he said. "We're facing competition from Southwest, not only in Pittsburgh, but at other points in our system, from AirTran, JetBlue, ATA, Frontier and Spirit Airlines. That's why this company has taken such an aggressive approach to attacking our cost structure."
By Tom Belden To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
Feb 18, 2005 (The Philadelphia Inquirer - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- In a move that will bring a drastic reduction in fares, Southwest Airlines announced plans yesterday to start flying in May between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, long an expensive, US Airways monopoly route.
Southwest, which started service to Philadelphia last May, said it would have four round-trips a day to Pittsburgh when it begins service there May 4. The discounter said it would also have nonstops from Pittsburgh four times daily to Chicago Midway Airport, and once a day to both Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.
In a second assault on US Airways, AirTran Airways, another low-cost carrier, said yesterday that it would start flights from Charlotte, N.C., US Airways' largest hub, the same day Southwest launches Pittsburgh service. AirTran said it would fly between Charlotte and two cities, Atlanta and Baltimore.
Southwest will have introductory one-way fares of $29 plus tax between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and a top one-way price of $79 plus tax for refundable tickets bought at the last minute. The fare on US Airways for a refundable ticket bought yesterday for travel today was $730.40, according to the usairways.com Web site.
Pittsburgh, once US Airways' largest hub, experienced a reduction in service last year when the beleaguered airline reduced its flights from more than 400 a day to 239 as part of its effort to cut costs while operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart, who was in Pittsburgh for the airline's announcement, said the Philadelphia service "is an obvious one, when you consider Southwest's history of primarily doing short-haul, high-frequency service. With the fare announcement and the frequency, it will act as an incubator and stimulate tremendous traffic."
Airline industry analysts said Southwest had not been expected to start its Pittsburgh service with Philadelphia flights.
"You can always count on Southwest for some surprise," said Kevin P. Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor-based Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy group for companies and travelers. "It's going to have a huge negative impact on US Airways ... and it's going to stimulate activity between the business communities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."
US Airways Group Inc. spokesman David Castelveter said it was too soon to know whether the airline would change its schedules to meet the new competition in Pittsburgh.
"We're still the largest airline in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh," he said. "We're facing competition from Southwest, not only in Pittsburgh, but at other points in our system, from AirTran, JetBlue, ATA, Frontier and Spirit Airlines. That's why this company has taken such an aggressive approach to attacking our cost structure."
By Tom Belden To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
