Southwest Airlines Celebrates Five Years Of "LUV" In West Palm Beach
Southwest Airlines and its 43 local Employees celebrate five years of service on Saturday at West Palm Beach International Airport. Customers traveling Saturday will enjoy birthday cake in celebration.
“We are Florida's largest intrastate carrier, and we owe it all to our wonderful Florida Customers,” said Greg Wells, Southwest Airline's Senior Vice President of Ground Operations. “We have had great success in West Palm Beach, and we are thrilled to be celebrating five wonderful years.”
Southwest Airlines began service to West Palm Beach on Jan. 21, 2001. Today, Southwest operates 12 daily nonstops to Baltimore/Washington, Long Island/Islip, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay, with additional direct or connecting service to 32 cities. The airline occupies two gates at the airport.
Other noteworthy West Palm Beach statistics:
- Since Southwest began service, the airline has grown to capture more than 11 percent market share, as of the second quarter of 2005.
- Over the past year, Southwest handled more than 705,000 Customers at West Palm Beach International Airport.
- Before Southwest started service in West Palm Beach, there were 193,000 passengers carried to the nonstop cities served by Southwest from West Palm Beach. Over the last 12 months, there were 330,000 passengers carried to these cities, an increase of 71 percent.
- Before Southwest started service on those routes, the average one-way fare was $116. Over the last 12 months, the average one-way fare was $85, a decrease of 26.7 percent.
“Our West Palm Beach Employees deserve all of the credit for bringing our excellent Customer Service and low fares to the people of West Palm Beach,” Wells said. “They work hard every day for our Florida Customers, and they are going to celebrate this weekend.”
Southwest Airlines thanks the people and travelers of West Palm Beach for a wonderful five years and looks forward to many more years of growth and success in the city.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), the nation's largest airline in terms of domestic Customers boarded, currently serves 62 cities in 32 states. Southwest currently serves six cities in Florida: Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Ft. Myers/Naples, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood. Based in Dallas, Southwest Airlines currently operates more than 3,000 flights a day. The carrier began service to Denver, its newest destination, on Jan. 3, 2006.
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