2008 Election Poll

The election is over.
Tell us how you feel about the outcome.
Online poll from Nov. 5 to Nov. 11
Southwest’s future Print E-mail

By This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | Corridor Inc. Staff Writer
Originally published August 2007

Image
Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Photo by John Keith.
     Southwest Airlines is heading in a new direction.
     The low-cost carrier is cutting back some of its nonstop flights from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), planning a move into the international market and considering a change in its boarding options.
     The airline “is in a transformational period,” said Gary C. Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, at a recent BWI Partnership meeting.
     This fall, the airline will cut eight nonstop transcontinental flights from BWI due to the slowing economy and high fuel prices.
     “We still have a very strong presence at BWI,” said Brandy King, a Southwest spokeswoman. “With the high prices of fuel and operations we are simply trimming down and working smarter.”
     Currently, Southwest has 178 daily departures from BWI, making it the airport’s largest carrier. More than 10 million passengers used the service in 2006.
     “Despite cutbacks, BWI remains one of the largest Southwest airports,” said Jonathan Dean, a BWI spokesman.  
     The airline will eliminate 39 roundtrip daily flights systemwide, but will add 46 new roundtrip flights in key growth markets such as New Orleans and Denver.
     Kelly has also said the airline will possibly go international and is considering starting the service at BWI.
     “We are building ourselves now to manage change,” said Kelly. “I think BWI will prove to be a great launching point for us.”
     However, King said no firm plans have been made yet.
     “BWI as an airport and what it has to offer, gives no reason why we wouldn’t offer international service but we’ve made no decisions at this time,” she said.
     Southwest is also looking into changing its current boarding and seating method, which has been compared to a cattle call-like process where passengers board a plane as part of a group, rather than have an assigned seat.
     “We’re still looking at all our options,” said King. “We plan to make a decision by the end of the year.” ::
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]