Southwest Airlines Makes Mark in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS - While they only fly direct to three cities from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Southwest Airlines may seem like a bit player compared with Delta Airlines' schedule. The low cost carrier has already forced their competition to change the way they do business.

When they arrived last year with $50 non-stops to Chicago, Southwest Airlines forced their biggest rivals, United Airlines, American Airline and Northwest Airlines to compete on price.

The promotional fares are gone, but in a year, the price of a ticket to Chicago has dropped more than 60percent. Industry insiders call it the “Southwest effect.”

The Dallas-based carrier has clearly made fans in the Twin Cities.

While still the newest arrival in the Humphrey terminal, the low-cost carrier has added daily non-stops to Denver and St. Louis.

But Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who vigorously defended his gates against the low cost carrier, said the competition has not been a game changer.

“It hasn't really changed the way we do business,” said Anderson. “The consumers tell you what they want in terms of service and schedules and prices and we compete hard in the market place. And we do our best to try and keep our travelers happy.”

Southwest Airlines’ trusty fleet of 737's now moves more domestic passengers than any other carrier, making it the one airline in U.S. travel.

According to the Southwest effect, when the airline enters a market, the volume of passenger on their key routes goes up across the board.

So far, Minneapolis to Chicago is up 50 percent and the passenger count to Denver is up 13 percent.