Southwest Airlines will begin flying to Philadelphia, a big destination for Tampa Bay area travelers and a major hub for rival US Airways.
The nation's largest low-fare carrier, Southwest wouldn't say Tuesday from where it will offer nonstop service to Philadelphia. But Philadelphia is the No. 5 destination for travelers from Tampa International Airport, where Southwest is neck-and-neck with Delta Air Lines in the race for the airport's largest airline.
"If they're in Philadelphia, they've got to serve Florida," said Louis Miller, Tampa International's executive director.
Philadelphia is the first new city that fast-growing Southwest has added to its route system in two years. The airline will start with as many as 14 daily flights in May, using four gates at Philadelphia International Airport and five new Boeing 737s.
Southwest likes to go into cities where a dominant carrier charges high fares, restricting the number of people who fly. Philadelphia, where US Airways holds 65 percent of the market, fit the bill perfectly, said Southwest chairman Herbert Kelleher.
"We've been looking hungrily at Philadelphia for more than a decade," he said. "It's one of the most suppressed markets in the country."
The move is a major challenge to US Airways, which emerged from bankruptcy reorganization this year but remains vulnerable to competitors like Southwest with far lower operating costs.
US Airways chief executive David Siegel on Tuesday called the move "a direct assault on our principal hub." He told reporters in Washington, D.C., that his airline can "either stand and fight or cut and run. I prefer to stand and fight."
But US Airways can succeed only if it further cuts costs, Siegel said. The airline already won deep pay reductions from employees and concessions from creditors to come out of bankruptcy.
Once Tampa International's top carrier, US Airways has cut flights since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and slipped to an 11.3 percent market share locally, compared to 21.5 percent for Delta and 21.3 percent for Southwest.
US Airways has seven daily nonstop flights from Tampa to Philadelphia, more than any other airline. Competition from bargain carrier AirTran Airways keeps roundtrip leisure fares around $180.
Southwest's entry could bring down walk-up ticket prices. A one-day advance purchase on US Airways and AirTran on Tuesday was $484 roundtrip on the airlines' Web sites. The same ticket to nearby Baltimore/Washington International was $332 on Southwest.
- Information from Bloomberg News was used in this report. Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.
