Boston Become Southwest's Newest City This Fall; Somewhere, Competitors Weep

The US airline that changes the market in every city it begins service announces it will start flying into and out of Boston's Logan airport this coming fall.  Southwest has for years served Boston with flights into Providence, Rhode Island, and Manchester, New Hampshire.  The airline pays smaller airport fees at such regional airports  But it also hasn't shied away from launching flights from major airports such as Los Angeles.

The Boston announcement came at a company event in Chicago last night, and the news will obviously send executives at other airlines that serve Boston into a frenzy.  It's called the "Southwest effect"--anytime Southwest begins service in a new market, airline fares drop across the board as existing competitors try to hold on to business in the face of lower fares introduced by Southwest.

So Bostonians can expect not just lower fares come the autumn leaves but also promotions from existing carriers such as on double miles on flights into and out of Logan.

Southwest is the country's only consistently profitable airline, and what used to be a fringe player now serves 64 airports and is a game-changer in every market it enters.  Coming in March: Southwest begins flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, my hometown, to Chicago's Midway.  Northwest, its main competitor, matched Southwest's low fares as soon as they were announced.  It remains to be seen, as Southwest begins flying to other destinations from  MSP, what affect it will have on Northwest, which, of course, is soon to become Delta Air Lines.