Southwest Airlines is adding a second daily non-stop flight from GSP to Baltimore-Washington International Airport beginning Nov. 1.
Last September the Dallas-based low-cost carrier reduced two daily flights to one to BWI. “It’s a sign that the market is there for additional service to Baltimore,” Dave Edwards, president/CEO at GSP said Monday in announcing the added flight.
The news follows GSP’s report of a 4.1 percent reduction (3,164) in enplanements in March 2014 compared to this year – 77,715 vs. 74,551. The total enplanements and deplanements amount to minus 4.9 percent overall.
GSP’s 2015-2016 fiscal year budget forecasts 975,000 enplanements.
“The benchmarks are traditional and analytical,” Dan Landson, spokesperson for Southwest, said. “It’s driven to where the passengers are trying to get to. We want to connect to as many cities in our system as possible.”
Southwest flights originating from GSP provide non-stop service to Chicago Midway and Houston with Baltimore/Washington. Southwest also provides three one-stop flights to Denver International Airport, Boston Logan International and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
GSP previously lost non-stop service to Nashville and Orlando.
“We constantly watch supply and demand and where our systems are,” Landson said. “We’re always looking at our opportunities and maximizing our aircraft.”
Tickets went on sale last week for the BWI departing flights from GSP, 9:15 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., beginning in November.
GSP celebrated its fourth anniversary with Southwest in March.
It’s the second piece of good news for GSP this month. Passengers flying out of GSP continue to pay less than the average domestic fare from competing airports in the region, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s fourth quarter 2014 airfare report.