Schumer: Southwest Merger With Airtran Presents Opportunity to Expand MacArthur Service to Washington National Airport; In Personal Call to Southwest CEO, Urges Creation of Long Island to DC Connection

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, in a personal phone call to CEO of Southwest Airlines Gary Kelly, urged him to establish a Long Island to Washington, DC connection at Long Island MacArthur Airport (LIMA) now that Southwest has acquired AirTran. Schumer said Southwest's acquisition of AirTran yesterday presents the opportunity to extend their network into markets previously only served by AirTran, allowing it to serve an additional 100 million customers annually from more than 100 different airports in and around the United States, including Washington National Airport in Washington D.C. Schumer said that establishing a MacArthur-DC connection not only makes business sense for Southwest, but would also make air travel more convenient and affordable for Long Island businesses and families, and today he urged Kelly to make this plan a reality.

"Expanding Southwest service between Long Island and Washington DC would be a win-win-win for Southwest, who could grow their brand on Long Island, for Long Island businesses, who would gain greater access to a crucial hub, and for Long Island families, who would see more convenient and affordable air travel," said Schumer. "With their acquisition of AirTran, Southwest now has the resources to make this plan a reality, and I urge them to take advantage of this terrific opportunity as soon as possible."

"I commend Senator Schumer for calling on Southwest Airlines to establish a MacArthur Airport connection to Washington DC. The LIA supports more use and expansion of MacArthur Airport and this extension of service to DC would help Long Island businesses and our overall economy," said Kevin S. Law, President, Long Island Association.

According to a recent study conducted by the airport, the LIMA catchment area generates approximately 4 million traveling passengers with just over 1.1 million using LIMA and the other 2.9 million "leaked" to the large airports in New York City. With the current growth trends in population and the increased number of passenger per population on Long Island, the study produced a forecast of 6.2 million traveling passengers originating from the LIMA catchment area by the year 2025.

In his call with Kelly, Schumer noted that a connection to Washington National Airport makes eminent business sense for Southwest. He noted that Long Island's economy is strong, with fast-growing small companies and a big defense industry doing business in Washington, and that expanding service to D.C. would be warmly embraced by the region's business and academic communities. Schumer also noted that the population centers of Long Island are moving and growing eastward, increasing the number of travelers that would potentially take advantage of the less congested Long Island airport in Ronkonkoma.

Though there has not been a direct commercial service available to Washington since 9/11, Schumer urged Kelly to envision the re-opening of this connection as a great way to grow Southwest's brand on Long Island. Schumer noted that Long Island's market demographics, which with high income and a diverse business community, make it a perfect candidate for this expanded service.

Schumer also said that establishing a connection DC would make travel more efficient in the New York City area. He pointed to a recent study funded by the Federal Aviation Administration that showed that MacArthur Airport is losing millions of potential customers to congested New York City airports, creating unnecessary traffic, congestion, and costing MacArthur customers. Schumer also spoke with Kelly in September of 2010 about expanding service to Atlanta, which has also been mentioned as a viable new Long Island connection for Southwest.

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