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Southwest Airlines will begin service from Charleston to the Baltimore/Washington area, Chicago, Nashville and Houston on March 13, 2011 according to the Post and Courier. The news release is as follows:
SOUTH CAROLINA, MEET SOUTHWEST AIRLINES!
Wed, 10/20/2010 - 09:00 — Bill Owen
HELLO, PALMETTO STATE! We’re Southwest Airlines—and we’re coming to serve you beginning on March 13, 2011! We’ll begin operations at our 70th and 71st airports, Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP) and Charleston (CHS), with seven weekday departures from each airport. At GSP, we’ll be flying one nonstop roundtrip to Nashville, two to Baltimore/Washington, one to Houston Hobby, one to Orlando, and two to Chicago Midway. At CHS, we’re starting with one roundtrip to Nashville, three to Baltimore/Washington, two to Chicago Midway, and one to Houston. Including direct and connecting service, We’re going to be offering service between Charleston and 65 Southwest cities, and between Greenville/Spartanburg and 68 SWA airports!
We’re positive our two newest destinations are going to be a big hit. If you’re going to S.C., it’s got a GREAT business environment. The scenery is amazing, from the beaches of the Low Country to the Piedmont hills Upstate. Food? Unique and fantastic. Famous Carolina Barbecue and Low Country seafood will keep you coming back for more. And what are the folks in South Carolina going to love about Southwest Airlines? LOTS. Full-sized jets—and only full-sized jets (Boeing all the way, friends!). Low fares and great value (three words: BAGS FLY FREE!). And, most of all, they’re going to love the People of Southwest Airlines—with smiles as big as Texas.
You’ll find all of our schedules, as well as some AWESOME introductory fares, available at southwest.com. One new Southwest state, and two new Southwest airports. Both Greenville/Spartanburg and Charleston will be great additions to our network. But no matter which one you’re going to use, come fly Southwest in the Southeast. Welcome to the Southwest Family, South Carolina!
They have a pretty good hub at Houston too FWIW. You can get to a LOT of destinations by hopping through there. I think Southwest has 20-something gates there.
Big news for Charleston. Seven flights a day is a good amount. Hopefully they will increase that number in the next couple of years. All the negative nellies at the Post and Courier are saying that Southwest will be just like AirTran and Independence Air (gone after a couple years).
Southwest will be much different. AirTran and Independence flew to just a few cities each (Atlanta for AirTran and Washington, Tampa, Orlando for Independence). Southwest flying to 4 around the country (Baltimore-Washington, Houston Hobby, Nashville, and Chicago Midway) provides worlds of connectivity to the area.
Houston connects to most of the Texas destinations, plus West Coast cities. Nashville, a very nice airport, connects easily to several Southern cities and smaller cities not served by the other hubs. Midway connects to the huge Chicago market, in much more comfortable surroundings than the crowded United commuter flights we have now.
Chicago connects to 52 cities alone on their network (most of the West plus several Midwest and Eastern cities). Baltimore-Washington connects to the huge Baltimore-Washington area plus over a dozen Northeast cities which never have even had one-stop service before. People want Western service, but it will come.
Last edited by jetsfan16; 10-20-2010 at 03:01 PM..
I never even thought about a Houston connection. Both my sisters have ended up in New Mexico and that should make my yearly trip to Albuquerque much better. As is I usually fly to a hub, then to another hub, then to ABQ. One year at Thanksgiving I ended up with three connections on the way out. Which is preferable to flying through New Orleans and not even getting to leave the plain- or flying through Dallas/Ft Worth and having to go to the basement to get on a smaller jet.
Does Southwest fly into National or only Baltimore?
Southwest flies into just BWI for now, as that is one of their main hubs. Eventually, if the Airtran merger goes through, they will fly into National as well.
I was hoping for at least one more city. Oh, well, I guess the $81 RT ticket I purchased for my college student from Chicago is good enough
$30 OW tickets Chicago/CHS if you purchase by midnight tonight!
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