What's New at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport

Despite the global recession and continued economic pressures that have impacted the airline industry, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport has reported that recent decreases in seat capacity and passenger traffic compare favorably to those of other major airports in the region and nationwide.

That news includes announcements by two new airlines that have established service at BWI Marshall, along with existing carriers at the airport that have added new routes or increased frequencies.

In January, Cape Air was selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide essential air service between Hagerstown and Lancaster, Pa., from BWI Marshall. The new service started in March with four daily round trips between Hagerstown and five daily round trips between Lancaster and the airport. The added flights by Cape Air mark the return of direct air service from Western Maryland to the local market.

The second new airline to announce service from BWI Marshall in 2009 is JetBlue Airways. JetBlue announced in April that it would begin service between BWI Marshall and Boston in September with four daily round trip flights.

In addition, Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at BWI Marshall with more than 160 daily nonstop departures, announced that it would serve two new destinations in 2009: Boston and New York City. Southwest will fly to both of these new destinations from BWI Marshall, with three daily nonstop flights to New York LaGuardia and five daily nonstop flights to Boston.

AirTran Airways, the second largest carrier at BWI Marshall, also has added significant new service at the airport in recent years. The airline carried nearly 2.9 million passengers at BWI Marshall in 2008, a 15% increase from the previous year. Its market share has increased to 14% of the airport's total passengers.

In 2009, AirTran has expanded its BWI Marshall service to include Cancun, Mexico and San Juan, Puerto Rico, along with seasonal service to Los Angeles, Seattle and Dallas/Fort Worth. In May, AirTran provided 52 daily nonstop departures; by the summer months, the airline will offer about 60 daily departures from the airport.

An important part of BWI Marshall Airport's success has been its ability to maintain low costs for airline partners. This emphasis is an important element in attracting and retaining the popular low fare airlines such as Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue.