Southwest Airlines to Serve Fort Myers, Florida
Airline adds sixth Florida city to its route map.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) June 27, 2005 -- Southwest Airlines,
the low-fare leader, solidified its Florida presence today by announcing service
to Fort Myers, Fla., from Southwest Florida International Airport beginning in
October 2005. Fort Myers will be Southwest's sixth Florida city. Fares and
flight schedules will be announced next month.
"Fort Myers is a great addition to
the Southwest Airlines Family, not only from a business standpoint, but from a
Southwest Florida Customer standpoint as well," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's
Chief Executive Officer. "Now, our Southwest Florida Customers have to look no
further than their own backyard for Southwest's legendary low fares and great
Customer Service."
With this announcement,
Southwest Airlines continues to expand its commitment to the state of Florida.
Southwest Florida International Airport will become Southwest's 61st airport
systemwide. In Florida, Southwest currently serves Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood,
Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay, and West Palm Beach. Southwest Airlines is the
largest intra-Florida carrier and transported more than 5.7 million Floridians
in 2004.
"We are very excited about Southwest
Airlines' decision to inaugurate service at Southwest Florida International
Airport," said Robert M. Ball, A.A.E., Executive Director of the Lee County Port
Authority. "We have been working closely with Southwest for many years and are
pleased they have selected Southwest Florida as their newest destination. We are
confident this partnership will be successful and know travelers will enjoy this
exciting new service option."
Historically,
when Southwest enters a new city, fares drop dramatically and demand for travel
increases. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in a 1993 study described
the phenomenon as the "Southwest Effect." Statistics from Southwest's newest
cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are a perfect example:
* Since
Southwest Airlines entered the Philadelphia market in May 2004, total
Philadelphia traffic has increased nearly 30 percent.
* In just one year,
Southwest Airlines has grown to capture nearly 10 percent of the Philadelphia
market share.
* In the third quarter of 2004, the average one-way fare
between Philadelphia and Chicago Midway fell 46 percent, while traffic increased
by 137 percent. In addition, the average one-way fare between Philadelphia and
Chicago O'Hare (an airport that Southwest Airlines does not serve) fell 44
percent, while traffic increased by 28 percent, showing that Southwest Airlines'
arrival in new markets benefits sister airports and other airlines.
* Since
Southwest Airlines entered the Philadelphia market, one-way fares between
Philadelphia and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., have dropped 74 percent; one-way fares
between Philadelphia and Phoenix have dropped 33 percent; one-way fares between
Philadelphia and Los Angeles have dropped 33 percent; one-way fares between
Philadelphia and Las Vegas have dropped 27 percent; and one-way fares between
Philadelphia and Tampa Bay have dropped 20 percent.
* Southwest, which began
service from Pittsburgh on May 4 with 10 daily nonstop flights to Chicago, Las
Vegas, Philadelphia, and Orlando, had a total of 57,260 passengers, accounting
for six percent of the passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport, in its
first month of operations. Southwest was the fourth busiest airline at
Pittsburgh behind US Airways (570,168), Delta (65,228), and United (60,931) for
May 2005.
"Southwest is thrilled to begin operating out of a new,
state-of-the-art facility," Kelly said. "The new terminal will be a great home
for Southwest, and Fort Myers will be a fantastic addition to our strong 61 city
network."
For more than 34 years, Southwest has
been in the business of connecting people -- whether they are business
executives looking to "close the deal" or loved ones gathering for a special
occasion. Southwest boarded more than 70 million Customers in 2004 on its young
fleet of Boeing 737s.
Southwest has reported 32
consecutive years of profitability, and earlier this month celebrated its 34th
year in business. Based in Dallas, Southwest operates a fleet of 432 Boeing 737s
with an average age of nine years -- among the youngest pure jet fleets in the
domestic airline industry. Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest carrier in
terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 60 airports in 31
states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,000 flights a
day and has 31,000+ Employees systemwide.
http://www.southwest.com
Note to Editors: Photos of
Southwest aircraft and CEO Gary Kelly are available free to media via www.swamedia.com . This
release, as well as past news releases on Southwest, are available online at www.southwest.com . News media
also can access an online press room via www.southwest.com . Just go to "About SWA" and "Media
Relations."
To receive future releases
automatically via e-mail, sign up for e-mail news alerts at www.southwest.com . Just click
on "About SWA" and "News Releases."
Media Contact:
Public Relations of
Southwest Airlines
+1-214-792-4847
Customers:
+1-800-I-FLY-SWA or
+1-800-435-9792
en Espanol:
+1-800-VAMONOS or +1-800-826-6667
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb255730.htm