SOUTHWEST AIRLINES knows a good opportunity when it sees one. The airline's attempted move to Seattle's smallish Boeing Field from the newer Seattle-TacomaInternationalAirport, known as Sea-Tac, was going to be just one more victory for Southwest.
But last week, opposition from neighborhood and business groups in Seattle stopped the airline as it tried to follow its proven strategy of using older, regional airports to slash costs and reel in customers happy to shave 15 or more minutes of travel time from their trips to the airport.
In July, Southwest's proposal to switch airports, a plan it called "Freedom to Fly," said that rising landing fees and terminal rents at Sea-Tac threatened the airline's low air fares.
Gary C. Kelly, Southwest's chief executive, confirmed in a conference call on Tuesday that Sea-Tac was among the most expensive airports at which the company offered service, with a per-passenger fee of nearly $10, roughly double the fee when Southwest entered the Seattle market a decade ago. Moving to Boeing Field, formally known as KingCountyInternationalAirport, was going to solve that problem.
Boeing Field, named for William E. Boeing, whose company made use of the field in its early days, is one of the busiest general aviation fields in the United States. It is used by cargo and corporate jets, helicopters and receives occasional visits from Air Force One and the Blue Angels, the Navy's aerobatic team.
Transforming Boeing Field into an airport suitable for commercial airliners was going to be well worth the investment in building a terminal, parking garage and other facilities, said Whitney Eichinger, a Southwest spokeswoman.
Lower operating costs and an expected increase in market share for Southwest would have more than made up for the initial costs, she said.
The per-passenger costs at Boeing Field might have been roughly half of what Southwest pays now at Sea-Tac, said Harold Taniguchi, director of the King County Department of Transportation.
David Stempler, president of the Air Traveler Association, a passenger membership and advocacy organization, said, "Historically, Southwest has operated from these alternative city airports; it's been an effective approach."
He said his organization found that airport convenience is one of the top two criteria used by passengers in selecting flights, and it explains why, for example, many customers in Chicago choose to fly Southwest out of Midway Airport instead of using another carrier out O'Hare International Airport, which is farther from the city.
Southwest uses secondary airports in 9 of its 15 biggest cities as measured in airport passenger traffic. Mr. Stempler said the technique transformed Southwest from a small airline operating only in Texas.
"They were running from the legs of the giant until they became a giant themselves," he said, and added that his organization supported the greater customer choice that comes with the use of secondary airports.
The opposition in Seattle to Southwest's proposed move saw things differently.
Robert Bismuth, 51, a microprocessor industry executive who commutes from a quiet neighborhood in Seattle to Silicon Valley every week, called himself a perfect example of the kind of customer Southwest hoped to attract to Boeing Field, which is only five miles from downtown.
Despite the seeming appeal, Mr. Bismuth said, such a move would have been a disaster for the region.
"The increase in traffic alone would have ruled out any supposed convenience," he said. "And because there would be no room at Boeing Field for any other airline to operate, if I were to miss my Southwest flight, I wouldn't have been able to catch the next flight out on Alaska."
Instead of welcoming the proposal, Mr. Bismuth became a spokesman for the Sound Air Alliance, a coalition of neighborhoods and business entities concerned that Southwest's move would bring an increase in noise, traffic and taxpayer costs.
Members counted heavy aircraft already flying into Boeing Field, studied Federal Aviation Administration flight charts, snapped photos and continuously conveyed their concerns to Seattle public officials.
Was there a lesson in this for Southwest?
"I don't think we would have done things any differently," said Ron Ricks, Southwest's senior vice president of law, airports and public affairs.
"We still believe in the validity of the business proposition," he added. "We never entertained hopes of the ease of it, but we were offering Seattle a service without asking for handouts or special legislation."
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