SWA expands DAL service...

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


[ ... and the Wright Amendment will be gone in 2014. Before,
flights out of DAL had to terminate in a state bordering Texas. Any
further destinations required a change of planes and different flight
number. Now, same plan, same flight number, continuous service.

Interestingly, AAL isn't up in arms about this... -Ed. ]

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co. LUV.N, the
leading U.S. budget carrier, said on Tuesday it will expand service
from Love Field in Dallas starting Thursday, as it moves to take
advantage of legal changes.

Dallas travelers will now be able to book tickets that allow them to
connect to cities including Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles,
Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. Previously, passengers needed to book two
tickets when making long-distance travel from Love Field because of
restrictions on travel from the Dallas airport.

The connecting service will expand Southwest's service from Dallas to
43 destinations from 18, the carrier said.

Under an introductory offer, 14-day advance purchase tickets from
Dallas will cost $99 each way.

The expanded service comes after Southwest succeeded in a long-running
fight to expand service at its home airport and offers a growth
opportunity for the low-cost airline.

Southwest is hoping the expanded service will help it sell the empty
seats on Dallas flights, which average 30 percent to 35 percent of its
137-seat Boeing BA.N 737s.

Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said he would be disappointed if
the added service didn't boost annual revenue by more than $50 million.

Service from Love Field had been restricted by a 1979 law to spur
growth at nearby Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where American Airlines
AMR.N is dominant.

The two airports are about 28 miles apart. Love Field is about eight
miles from downtown Dallas, while Dallas-Fort Worth is about 20 miles
from the center of the Texas city.

Kelly expects the new routes will allow it to take market share in the
Dallas area from American. "I would be surprised if customers didn't
vote with their feet for lower fares," he said.

American and Southwest agreed in July to end their turf battle, paving
the way for a congressional repeal of the 1979 legislation, known as
the Wright Amendment. The repeal was signed into law by President
George W. Bush last week.

Restrictions on nonstop long-distance flights from Love Field will
remain in place for another eight years.

BL.
- --
Brad Littlejohn | Email:
Unix Systems Administrator, |
Web + NewsMaster, BOFH.. Smeghead! | http://www.wizard.com/~tyketto
PGP: 1024D/E319F0BF 6980 AAD6 7329 E9E6 D569 F620 C819 199A E319 F0BF

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFFNoIjyBkZmuMZ8L8RApEaAKDhTueYYjxwe3iCHYKp1M gWRoZk7ACfdhEh
pouxlLfOFrwFP1qUWyiRVeY=
=en2U
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----