Southwest begins service in New York’s La Guardia Airport
Southwest Airlines announced its first foray in to New York, beginning with service from La Guardia Airport in June.
Southwest plans to start low-fare service to Chicago Midway Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Airport on June 28, company officials said on Monday.
Get ready for more travel bargains as Southwest’s prices could affect fares in and out of La Guardia in the same way that JetBlue Airways has affected fares in and out of Kennedy Airport. One-way flights to Chicago Midway will start as low as $89, and flights to Baltimore-Washington will start at $49 one way.
Service from La Guardia is an opportunity for Southwest to break into the nation’s busiest air market. It has edged into the area with flights from Islip Airport on Long Island, which is approximately 50 miles from Manhattan.
Southwest bought takeoff and landing slots at La Guardia after ATA Airlines filed for Chapter 11 last April. Southwest previously had a code-sharing agreement with ATA, allowing passengers on Southwest to book tickets to destinations served by ATA.
The arrangement gave Southwest insight into operations at La Guardia, said Bob Jordan, an executive vice president of Southwest. “We know we have built-in demand,” Mr. Jordan said.
Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge approved Southwest’s $7.5 million bid for ATA’s 14 takeoff and landing slots, which would give it the capacity of seven peak-period flights a day in and out of La Guardia. Through bartering, it traded in those for eight slots spread throughout the day.
“There was a lot of horse-trading in there,” Mr. Jordan said. Southwest will have five flights to Chicago and three flights to Baltimore-Washington daily, which will connect to dozens of other destinations. Two other large markets that Southwest has yet to fully serve are Atlanta and Boston.
Karen
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