Travel News - Southwest adding BDL to their roster

Today (July 13th) Southwest will be making an announcement that service will be available to Bradley (a/k/a Hartford, Connecticut). BDL is about 10 miles north of Hartford Ct or 20 miles south of Springfield, Massachusetts. The dominant players at BDL up to now have been American-USAir-Delta-United.

Some more detail and special fares:

The airline will offer eight daily nonstop flights to Baltimore/Washington, two daily to Chicago Midway, one daily to Nashville, and one daily to Orlando. Southwest also will offer direct or connecting service to 29 other cities such as Houston Hobby, Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix, and Tampa. Connecting service requires a change of planes before continuing to the final destination.

Southwest is offering a $65 one-way unrestricted fare between Bradley International Airport and Baltimore/Washington, which is a 76 percent savings from the $277 one-way fare for nonstop service currently offered by other airlines between Bradley International Airport and Baltimore/Washington. Southwest Airlines' $65 fare is available on every seat, every flight, and every day between Bradley International Airport and Baltimore/Washington. (See attached chart for fares to all destinations from Bradley International Airport.)

An even lower fare of $39 each way, based on roundtrip travel, is available with seven-day advance purchase for travel between Baltimore/Washington and Bradley International Airport. Seats are limited and an overnight stay is required. Tickets must be purchased within one day of making reservations and are nonrefundable but may be applied, if unused, toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges of up to $6 each way and a federal tax of $2.25 per segment.

Additionally, Southwest has announced a special fare of $99 or less each way between any two published destinations systemwide, including Bradley International Airport. The offer is good for roundtrip travel only, and an overnight stay is required. Seats are limited and will not be available on some flights that operate during peak travel times, including the Thanksgiving holiday. Tickets must be purchased by July 28. Travel must be completed by Dec. 6, 1999. Tickets must be purchased within one day of making reservations. For this sale, tickets are nonrefundable, but, if unused, may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest Airlines. Fares are subject to change until ticketed, and any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Fares do not include airport taxes of $3 to $12 roundtrip or a federal excise tax of $2.25 per segment.

-Ronald

Wherever Southwest goes, fares come down but no matches of the $99 fare yet, I don't imagine! I think they are really putting the squeeze on US Airways there! Great news for Connecticut FT's!

This is great news for Connecticut flyers indeed! I do harbor this lingering concern with Southwest, however......how many other thousands of people have handled (sneezed on, stepped on, or placed boogers on) those re-usable boarding passes? Now it's one thing to use it as a coaster for your drink at the airport bar before you board, but I hesitate to even imagine where those sacred, numbered pieces of plastic have been before one is handed to me. Anyone interested in suggesting the MOST UNUSUAL use of a Southwest boarding pass while you're waiting to board? Keep it clean, fellow flyers. This is a "G" rated board, you know!

WOW! WOW! WOW!

I can barely contain myself, this is so exciting. I have been driving to Providence as the fares for all airlines there are drastically lower (due to SouthWest presence there). My second choices have been the New York area airports of LGA, JFK, and EWR.

Now, the airport in my back yard is finally going to be affordable. All the airlines should begin to match those fares shortly..

http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Note to Captain Mike: Interesting commentary about those re-usable boarding passes. Do you harbor the same feeling towards paper currency? Afterall, how many people have, as you said, "sneezed on, stepped on, or placed boogers on" your $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills? Perhaps you should become a Seinfeld protege as that seems to be your calling.

Steve100: Paper currency is supposed to be manufactured with some sort of anti-germ agent in it, but I doubt that. It certainly disappears after a few handlings, anyway. While most people think colds and flu are transferred by someone sneezing or coughing on you, far more is picked up from surfaces (pens, money, telephones). We'd all be a lot healthier if we did a better job of hand washing before eating, but who has that kind of time? Unfortunately, none of us.

And I'd trade my bank accounts for Jerry Seinfeld's any time.

[This message has been edited by Captain Mike (edited 07-15-1999).]

Wow, I finally may get a chance to fly SW, BWI-BDL. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I wonder whether SWF, Steward-Newburg, NY, is on SW's expansion plan. I'm hoping for it since it's closer to my in-laws. Then I could fly rather than drive... http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


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Dan

Must be the only person I know in a hurry to get to the in-laws place.

Must be the only person I know in a hurry to get to the in-laws place.

Well, because I received an offer from SW, fly 2 RT and get 1 RT ticket. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

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Dan

I'm seeing double from JAWS!!!

Well, that's good for Connecticut. Now where can SW fly from in the greatest state in the world... Trenton? Teterboro? Atlantic City?
The big parking lot at the K-Mart in Jersey City?