Is SW Coming To Long Island?
<B> Is SW Coming To Long Island?</B>
By Jay Campbell
Long Island travel managers are welcoming the prospect of new service at MacArthur Airport in Islip, N.Y., from Southwest Airlines. The carrier is expected to announce later this year a spring startup of service to Baltimore/Washington, Providence, R.I., Manchester, N.H., and possibly Chicago-Midway, Kansas City and Nashville.
The airline has yet to officially confirm a Wall Street Journal report that revealed the plan, but has said it will announce a new city by year-end. Southwest's march into the Northeast has been slow, deliberate and successful.
Buyers located in the 40-mile stretch between LaGuardia and JFK airports in Queens and Islip already are preparing to support the airline. They said travelers prefer to use the smaller airport. "I'm planning to call Southwest next week to get some information, however preliminary it may be," said Barry Friedman, corporate travel manager at Canon USA Inc. in Lake Success, N.Y., about 30 miles west of Islip and 15 miles east of Queens. "And speaking with other buyers in the region, they're very interested. Our people are trying to avoid the traffic to LaGuardia and JFK--sometimes at all costs."
Friedman said many employees live closer to Islip than to the bigger airports or even the office. He said they will seek the lower fares Southwest would bring. The Journal said likely unrestricted fares will be $70 to Baltimore and Providence, $140 to Chicago and $130 to Nashville--as much as 70 percent lower than existing fares on those routes. Judy Tiberie, event coordinator with Computer Associates International, Hauppauge, N.Y., said, "fares at Islip are generally $100 higher than at LaGuardia."
Would Southwest's entry bring down fares at LaGuardia? Friedman thought so. "This would bring a semblance of competition to Islip, which might bring out the best in the other carriers," said Friedman. "For example, a Chicago flight would offer strong competition to American Airlines, which is the only carrier now flying large jets out of Islip."
Judy Shyman, manager of training and employee services at Hazeltine Corp. in Greenlawn, N.Y., doubted it: "Islip is a whole different story," she said.
Service from Islip to New England, upstate New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore now are operated by the commuter partners of several major carriers. Delta Connection carrier Comair operates regional jet service three times a day to its Cincinnati hub.
US Airways scaled back as a major jet operator at Islip last year. "That hurt us big time," said Tiberie. "We're ten minutes from Islip and use it a lot. Now we're expanding here to accommodate 8,000 employees, so hopefully Southwest will follow through.