Southwest Airlines Adds Capacity from Milwaukee

Southwest Airlines and its wholly-owned subsidiary AirTran Airways are to boost links between Milwaukee and Denver, Des Moines, Akron-Canton and St Louis from this September. According to Southwest, AirTran will add two daily flights to Akron-Canton and Des Moines, while it will initiate a twice service to St Louis, as well as offering a daily link to Denver, a route already served once daily by AirTran. These flights will all commence on September 6 when AirTran’s existing marketing partnership with SkyWest Airlines on all these routes ends.

"As we continue to integrate AirTran into Southwest, we have the opportunity to provide new Customer itineraries out of terrific cities like Milwaukee," said Bob Jordan, Executive Vice President Strategy and Planning, Southwest Airlines and President of AirTran Airways. "In working together with AirTran, I think we have an excellent plan for providing more capacity and options to Milwaukee. AirTran and Southwest have each achieved great success in Milwaukee, and Southwest remains committed to that market with a combined total of more than 50 daily departures to more than 20 nonstop destinations."

Frontier Airlines currently dominates capacity at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee and competes on routes to Des Moines, St Louis and Denver, with United Airlines also offering service to the latter. However, AirTran is currently the sole operator to Akron-Canton with 20 flights per week using a Bombardier CRJ200 of SkyWest Airlines. Southwest Airlines currently serves six destinations (Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Kansas City, Las Vegas McCarran, Orlando International, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Tampa International) from Milwaukee offering 77 flights per week.