"Southwest Effect" evident in Florida.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 1996--Southwest Airlines, which began serving Florida on Jan. 22, 1996, has made a drastic impact on the number of people traveling out of the Tampa International Airport and the fares they paid during the first quarter of 1996, according to Department of Transportation figures just released.

"Our service didn't begin until late January, so our numbers are really only for two full months, yet the impact we had on the Tampa numbers and fares overall is consistent with what we have seen throughout our 25-year history," said Dave Ridley, Southwest's vice president of marketing and sales for Southwest. "The term 'Southwest Effect' refers to what happens in a city once Southwest Airlines begins service -- all airlines typically have more Customers and the fares drop drastically to cities served by Southwest."

From Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale, where Southwest started service with six daily roundtrips, the airport saw an increase of 101.77 percent in the number of people traveling that route. Over 110,000 people traveled the route in the first quarter, an increase of over 54,000 passengers over the first quarter of 1995.

"When you have an average fare that has dropped from $93 to $50, more people are going to travel the route," said Ridley. "Southwest had fares in place for as low as $19 one-way, with no fare higher than $59 between Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale. The other carriers had to lower their fares between the two cities, also, so all the airlines serving the route saw a healthy increase in Customers."

From Tampa to Birmingham, the numbers are just as favorable with a 90 percent increase in passengers for the airport as a whole. This increase further demonstrates the Southwest Effect because the service from Tampa to Birmingham didn't event start until Feb. 27. The average one-way fare from Tampa to Birmingham was $155 for the first quarter of 1995, before Southwest began service. However, for the first quarter of 1996 when Southwest was in the market, the average fare dropped to $99.

"The 'Southwest Effect' is alive and happening in Florida," said Ridley. "The airport saw huge increases in passengers traveling to every city that Southwest serves from Tampa, and it will be interesting to see what the results are for a quarter in which Southwest served the market the entire three months!"

From Tampa to Nashville, the increase was 19.28 percent; from Tampa to Baltimore, the increase was 62.12 percent; from Tampa to New Orleans, the airport saw an increase of 34.56 percent; and from Tampa to St. Louis, the market increased by 40.73 percent.

"Southwest began serving Orlando on April 7, and we expect to see similar results when that data is available," concluded Ridley.

Southwest Airlines operates 23 daily departures out of Tampa International Airport to nine destinations.

This press release as well as past releases, can be accessed on the Southwest Airlines internet site at: http://www.iflyswa.com.

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CONTACT: Southwest Airlines, Dallas

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