Southwest Adds Service from BWI to Boston, New York

Southwest recently announced the launch of service from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport to Boston's Logan Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport.

In order to expand into the new destinations for its fall 2009 flight schedule, Southwest Airlines trimmed unpopular flights from across its system, which reflects today's economic environment.

With most of its customers changing their spending habits, Southwest is adapting to the market, given continued uncertainty about the economy, the overall decline in air traffic and volatile fuel prices.

"Our Schedule Planning Team erred on the side of caution while scheduling flights and departure times for the months of August through October," said airline spokesperson Marina Hardy.

Southwest employed what are known in the airline industry as flight optimization abilities, a sophisticated approach to deploying available aircraft. By reducing the number of unpopular flights, aircraft time became available, providing the airline with a unique opportunity to move aircraft it owns to new destinations.