Southwest Adds Flights To Boise
Southwest Airlines will attempt to succeed where a number of other airlines have failed by offering non-stop flights between Spokane and Boise.
Beginning May 4, the Dallasbased airline will offer three flights a day from Spokane International Airport to Boise, with departures at 6:55 a.m., noon, and 4:30 p.m.
The additions are part of Southwest’s expansion of service in the West and Midwest by 31 roundtrip flights in 1995.
Another part of that expanded service will be two more SpokaneSeattle flights to be added at midyear, Southwest announced in a news release Thursday.
The Spokane-Boise flights will be priced at $69 for a one-way, non-restricted fare.
In the past, major and regional carriers have not been able to figure out how to make money flying jet service between Boise and Spokane.
Alaska Airlines tried it when it was at its peak of activity in the Spokane market. Morris Air, which like Southwest was a lowfare, no-frills carrier, attempted the route for several months during its otherwise highly successful participation in the Spokane market. But Morris, too, dropped the route.
Southwest entered the Pacific Northwest market by acquiring Morris at the end of 1993.
Currently, Coeur d’Alenebased Empire Airlines flies regularly scheduled service between Coeur d’Alene and Boise.
“How this will affect us depends on how long Southwest is able to fly that route,” John Beacham, Empire’s director of market planning, said Thursday. “A number of other jet carriers have tried to operate in that market and there hasn’t been enough traffic to support jet service.”
Beacham said Southwest will certainly have an impact on his company’s operation, which depends on Coeur d’Alene-Boise business travelers for about 65 percent of its operation.
Also on May 4, Southwest will initiate three non-stop daily flights from Boise to Reno, and Reno to Los Angeles. So it will be possible for Spokane travelers to fly direct routes to Reno and Los Angeles through Boise, meaning that they will not have to change planes along that three-city route.
John Morrison, chief executive officer and executive director of Spokane Airports, applauded Southwest’s expanded schedules here.
“The growth of our regional economy is due in part to the availability of direct flights to cities throughout the West and across the country,” Morrison said.
“Our economic expansion will continue to grow in part with the availability of convenient service and competitive fares provided by airlines like Southwest.”
The Boise and Seattle additions will bring the total number of Southwest flights operating out of Spokane International Airport daily to 15. The airline currently flies five flights a day to Seattle, three to Portland, and one each to Oakland and Salt Lake.