Southwest adds fifth Philadelphia flight
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Southwest Airlines is less than a month into its operations at Pittsburgh International Airport and already it's planning to expand -- it plans to add a fifth daily nonstop flight to Philadelphia starting Sept. 14.
The new flight will bring Southwest's total daily departures to 11 -- the airline also offers four flights a day to Chicago and one each to Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.
While the extra flight certainly doesn't rival Southwest's rapid expansion at Philadelphia International Airport, it represents another piece of good news for local travelers and the airport, where some low-cost carriers have started service in the past with high hopes only to scale back because of a lack of demand.
"It is obvious that there's a demand on that route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It's highly sought after and obviously people are responding to lower fares," said JoAnn Jenny, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokeswoman.
Southwest, the nation's largest discount carrier, has been offering one-way fares as low as $29 to Philadelphia. Airline spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said the airline decided to add the flight because of the high interest in the route in the short time since the carrier launched service from Pittsburgh May 4.
"This is a quick addition. It's just a testament to the popularity of the route," she said.
Eichinger said the carrier also was pleased with the response it had been getting to its Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando offerings, but that it was not ready to add other destinations
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Southwest Airlines is less than a month into its operations at Pittsburgh International Airport and already it's planning to expand -- it plans to add a fifth daily nonstop flight to Philadelphia starting Sept. 14.
The new flight will bring Southwest's total daily departures to 11 -- the airline also offers four flights a day to Chicago and one each to Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.
While the extra flight certainly doesn't rival Southwest's rapid expansion at Philadelphia International Airport, it represents another piece of good news for local travelers and the airport, where some low-cost carriers have started service in the past with high hopes only to scale back because of a lack of demand.
"It is obvious that there's a demand on that route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It's highly sought after and obviously people are responding to lower fares," said JoAnn Jenny, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokeswoman.
Southwest, the nation's largest discount carrier, has been offering one-way fares as low as $29 to Philadelphia. Airline spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said the airline decided to add the flight because of the high interest in the route in the short time since the carrier launched service from Pittsburgh May 4.
"This is a quick addition. It's just a testament to the popularity of the route," she said.
Eichinger said the carrier also was pleased with the response it had been getting to its Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando offerings, but that it was not ready to add other destinations
