I know beggars can't be choosers, and overall, I'm happy with the Southwest announcement. I do wish GSP was getting a 3rd BWI flight right from the start. This will be my most used connection airport, by far, and it's just not feasible to leave at 6:30am or 7:20pm. Especially not with prices like $297 roundtrip to Pittsburgh, or $296 to Buffalo. Those flight times also severely limit our connection possibilities through BWI. Charleston got a 3rd daily flight to BWI, which creates far more sensible flight times, and results in about $30 cheaper roundtrip airfare to either PIT or BUF. Just two examples of how the Upstate would benefit from that one extra departure.
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I certainly wish you were already in Greenville, but oh well. Next week I will have to wake up bright and early in Greenville, then drive all the way to Charlotte to catch my flight up north. Fortunately those days will soon come to an end. Sooner the better....please hurry.
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In no way official, but I thought it would be interesting to see where future Southwest travelers would like to go from GSP: Vote for Southwest destinations from Greenville! http://www.greenvillemoves.com/southwest-gsp.html
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I understand it's a major decision, but I'm personally surprised that it's taken Southwest so long to consider Greenville, SC for operation. It would drastically improve airfare via competition in the GSP airport, and simultaneously steal back a large number of travelers flocking to CLT and ATL in search of lower fares. Not only that, but GSP would also be prime placement to fill a huge gap in Southwest's route map. Although Southwest doesn't offer international service, Greenville County represents some of the highest per capita international investment, which means a large number of business travelers. Obviously it also doesn't hurt that Greenville County is home to regional, national, and international headquarters for more than 75 companies...and that's just Greenville county!
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Obviously, as a Greenville (SC) resident, I am a little biased, but I think the addition of Southwest service to GSP would be far more logical than Charlotte. Greenville is more centrally located than Charlotte, and currently sits an average of 300 miles from the nearest airport with Southwest service (Raleigh, Jacksonville, Birmingham). Southwest at GSP would likely draw travelers from a 120 mile radius, which includes Greenville, Spartanburg, Charlotte, Columbia, Knoxville, Atlanta, Asheville, Augusta, Athens, etc. (Atlanta and Charlotte being the only two with a low cost carrier currently in place)
Not only that, but Greenville is a growth market (10% population growth from 2000 to 2007) with companies continuing to expand or relocate to our area. More than 20 companies are currently headquartered in Greenville County, and more than 125 Fortune 500 companies currently have locations in Greenville, which by the way, is the 35th largest Combined Statistical Area in the country.
OK, I'm done being a Greenville cheerleader...for now.
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