Southwest Plans Service to Dulles

Southwest Airlines (LUV Quote) said Tuesday that it will begin service to Washington's Dulles International Airport this fall, another sign that the low-fare carrier is increasingly interested in the nation's busiest airline markets.

The company said it has requested two gates at Dulles, one of three major Washington-area airports that in combination serve 65 million passengers annually. "The Washington, D.C., metro area is so large, it's a real advantage for us," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told reporters during a conference call. Dulles would be the airline's 63rd airport.

Kelly said Dulles has been on Southwest's list of potential destinations for many years. More recently, the company was watching closely as the 2004 arrival of low-fare carrier Flyi stimulated growth.

"With gates becoming available because of (Flyi) ceasing operations back in January, now was the time for us to take another look," he said. "The airport is looking at allocating gates. If we wanted to get gates this year, we needed to speak up."

Southwest expects to announce its destinations in the middle of the summer and to start flying early this fall. It would begin with "a modest presence," at Dulles, Kelly said. Baltimore Washington International Airport, Southwest's fourth-busiest airport with about 166 daily departures, will likely remain as the airline's principal Washington-area airport.

Shares of Southwest slipped 3 cents to close at $17.92.

The trend of Southwest's recent expansion shows a clear pattern. The airline began service to Denver International, the country's fifth-busiest airport, in January. In 2003, it began service to Philadelphia. The following year, Southwest added Pittsburgh-Philadelphia service, a critically important market, and expanded rapidly in Chicago.

"We serve most of the large metropolitan airports in the country, but not all, so we look for opportunities at airports large or small that are overpriced or underserved," Kelly said. He added that Southwest began service last fall to Fort Myers, Fla., which "is not a large city by any stretch," and said "we'll continue to grow in a variety of ways."