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Wherever Southwest Airlines flies, around 250 Upstate businesses have signed letters committing to patronize the airline at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Now that the Upstate finally grabbed a coveted low-fare airline, the question is where will Southwest fly and how many daily flights will the airline make from GSP.
By Scott Miller
smiller@scbiznews.com
Published May 12, 2010
Wherever Southwest Airlines flies, around 250 Upstate businesses have signed letters committing to patronize the airline at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
Now that the Upstate finally grabbed a coveted low-fare airline, the question is where will Southwest fly and how many daily flights will the airline make from GSP.
When announcing plans on Tuesday to serve GSP as well as the Charleston International Airport, Southwest said details on destinations, fares and number of daily flights will be released later. View the airline’s coverage map here.
GSP Executive Director Dave Edwards said he expects six to eight daily roundtrip flights from Southwest.
“Then obviously we would like to increase that as we show them that the Upstate will support it,” he added.
Edwards said he didn’t know what destinations Southwest would serve from GSP. In an earlier interview, he mentioned Southwest’s strong service to Baltimore/Washington D.C. and Chicago Midway airports when asked about potential flights from GSP. He also said Upstate travelers are looking for direct connections to the Northeastern and Western United States.
“Those are possibilities, as are others too,” Edwards said Tuesday.
Tuesday’s coverage
Southwest Airlines coming to Greenville, Charleston
Airline incentives bill likely dead
The airport commission offered Southwest an incentive package valued at $7 million over two years, he said. That package includes marketing, waiving of certain airport operating fees and the development of operating space for Southwest, Edwards said.
Additionally, around 250 Upstate businesses signed letters committing to buy Southwest tickets and fly from GSP instead of traveling to Atlanta or Charlotte to catch flights, said Richard Blackwell of the Upstate SC Alliance.
The Alliance worked with GSP, private businesses and several Upstate chambers of commerce to create the Upstate South Carolina Air Service Partnership last summer to pursue Southwest. The letters were used to make a business case for Southwest to come to GSP.
“We hear rumors of Baltimore, of Chicago, of Denver (as possible destinations), but I think it’s really too early to throw out what ifs,” Blackwell said. “But those are some of the cities that we heard way back when.”
In addition to helping businesses already here, Southwest’s low fares will help the Upstate economic development community attract new industry, he said. In the past, site selectors crossed the Upstate off the list early in the selection process because it lacked competitive air service, Blackwell said.
“This most certainly makes the Upstate more desirable. It creates a competitive advantage for the Upstate,” Blackwell said.
Tuesday’s announcement was long awaited by state leaders for that reason.
“South Carolina is already one of the best places in the world to do business, but the addition of a new low-cost air carrier will make a direct, positive impact on our ability to attract new companies, investments and jobs,” said U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina.
“I have personally met with and been in communication with Southwest Airlines for some time making sure they were aware of our interest,” said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. “Southwest Airlines beginning service to South Carolina is good news for our state, our economy, and the traveling public.”
This should be just the beginning of new destinations at GSP. Edwards said airlines already operating at GSP may add destinations and lower fares to compete with Southwest. The arrival of Southwest is likely to knock $75 to $100 off of the cost of a roundtrip ticket at GSP, he said. Currently, average tickets at GSP cost $377 each.
“There will be some type of competitive response,” Edwards said. “I think we’ll see some drop in fares before Southwest ever arrives at the airport as airlines make a move to secure that market.”
He said he expected airlines already at GSP to speculate about where Southwest might fly and offer service to those destinations in attempt to secure those markets.
Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said it’s too early to talk about when Southwest will start service, what routes it will offer or what fares would be. In any new city, she said the airline usually starts with “modest” offerings.
The airline differs from AirTran Airways, which cancelled its Charleston service last year due to lack of support from business travelers, in that it does not operate on a hub-and-spoke model. Its flight offerings are point-to-point.
Southwest said its average one-way passenger airfare as of Dec. 31 was $114.61.
Southwest will launch service at the Panama City, Fla. airport on May 23 with nonstop flights to Orlando, Nashville, Baltimore/Washington and Houston. The airline is promoting one-way tickets to those destinations at $75, $89, $99 and $99, respectively.
Ashley Fletcher Frampton contributed to this report.
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