Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 taxis into a terminal. Southwest airlines will begin
service to La Guardia International Airport in New York this summer.
Photo: Southwest Airlines/Boeing Co.
Pack your bags! Budget air-carrier Southwest Airlines has announced it will begin service to and from New York's LaGuardia International Airport beginning this summer on June 28th.
The Dallas based budget airline will operate eight round-trip flights daily out of the New York hub - five operating between Chicago Midway (MDW) and three operating daily between Baltimore/Washington. Flights from Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle will connect in Chicago-Midway before continuing onto the Big Apple.
Southwest aquired the 14 takeoff and landing time slots at LaGuardia after paying $7.5 million for the assessts of ATA Airlines, a air carrier that declared bankrupcy last year. Until the June arrival of Southwest planes into one of the busiest airports in the country, the low-fare airline will continue to fly New York bound passengers to the Long Island - MacArthur Airport in Ronkonoma, 43 miles away from La Guardia and JFK.
Introductory fares are as cheap as $89 each one from Chicago to La Guardia, an offer that is available for reservations made through April 20th on travel between June 29 and August 13, 2009. This leaves roundtrip airfare from Seattle to New York hovering around $450 once taxes and fees are included through the summer.
Comments
Southwest is on the move, good for them! My son lives in Manhattan, so I travel there frequently from Seattle. I prefer to fly non-stop, so I won't be going Southwest (as much as I like them). Also, flying into Newark is easier, so it looks like I'll stick with Alaska, American and Continental. But good news for Chicago and Baltimore/DC folks.
Those new routes are going to make for some GREAT "hidden city" airfares on American, United, etc.... check out AirFareIQ (dot-com) for some devious tricks for taking advantage of Southwest's fares on their "competition"
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!