Southwest Airlines cuts 31 flights, adds 40 flights

Southwest Airlines Company, the low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas, the United States, has announced that is planning to drop 31 flights but add 40 others, including a big push into Denver. The carrier will add a new non-stop flight between Lambert-St Louis International Airport and Fort Myers, Florida, the United States, from November 2, 2008.

It also plans to raise ticket prices for short-haul flights by $5 and long-haul flights by $10 from November 2, 2008. However, Southwest said it would not add fees for such items as bags and snacks to compensate for high fuel costs.

A press release from Southwest Airlines said that the airline is offering a $69 one-way, 14-day advance purchase fare for the flight for travel from November 2, 2008, through the end of the schedule on January 9, 2009.

By way of revamping its schedule, Southwest will add services in 40 markets and reduce services in 31 others. The carrier will accommodate these new services with two aircraft that it previously planned to retire.

The addition of 9 flights overall comes as many of Southwest’s competitors cutting flights in the face of exorbitant fuel prices and a slumping economy.

As a result of the changes, a number of markets will gain new non-stop services from Southwest.

For instance, the carrier will now offer 3 daily roundtrip flights between Denver, Colorado, and Orange County, California, as well as 2 daily services between Denver and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Denver is the home of Frontier Airlines and a major hub for UAL Corporation. Both Frontier and UAL had recently announced reduction in capacity. While Frontier Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection, UAL Corporation recently announced plans to close down its low-cost carrier, the Denver-based Ted Airlines.

These changes come after Southwest Airlines examined each market to determine how to best improve customer demand and profitability, the company’s release added.

Gary Kelly, chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, explained in a statement: “Despite cutting services in some cities, Southwest is overall an exception in the tumultuous airline industry. We have a much different story to tell today than our competitors. We are well-prepared financially, we are the nation’s Leading Low-Fare Airline, we are still growing, and our people provide outstanding customer service.”

At present, Southwest Airlines has, on an average, 68 daily departures from Lambert-St Louis International Airport.