Southwest Airlines today announced plans to launch service from Boston Logan International Airport this fall. The addition of Logan gives Southwest a presence in four of the top New England markets, as it already serves Providence, R.I., Manchester, N.H., and Hartford, Conn.
The carrier did not release full service details, but CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement, "We plan to begin Logan service with a conservative number of flights and a two gate operation."
According to
The Boston Globe, Kelly said the airline would start service "with eight to 12 daily departures from Logan."
Southwest said it has not changed its previously announced plans to reduce available seat miles by 4 percent in 2009.
Yet, despite the capacity cut in its overall network, the addition of Logan is Southwest's third planned launch into large regional cites 2009. The carrier has plans to launch at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport, pending approval of its purchase of now-defunct ATA Airlines' assets
(BTNonline, Feb. 2).
Fellow low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways has been using Boston as a regional hub since 2006 and over the past several months has announced expansion plans at Logan, including two daily non-stop flights to Los Angeles International Airport.