Says Government Leaders Didn't Think Through Boeing Field Decision

Southwest Airlines Wednesday released the following statement in response to the announcement by King County Executive Ron Sims that the Southwest Airlines proposal to fly out of Boeing Field has been rejected:

"Southwest Airlines has remained unwavering in its commitment to serve the people of the Puget Sound Region. Our proposal to develop service at Boeing Field was no exception. We believe in preserving and expanding low fares, and our proposal was an effort to do just that," said Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly. "We are a Company that honors its commitments and its word, and we continued to advance our proposal for Boeing Field as recently as last night when a leadership team from our Flight Operations Department spoke to the King County International Airport Roundtable to address noise issues, as we had promised. We thank the Roundtable and the other members of this community who have written, called, and offered support for our mission of keeping low fares in this region.

"We are disappointed that our proposal was not given the comprehensive examination it deserved, but that does not change our commitment to our Seattle Employees and our Customers," Kelly continued. "We will explore every option to expand and preserve our low fare service in the region. From the beginning we said that we had neither the power nor the desire to impose this project on the community. We accept and respect the outcome."

As Aero-News reported on Tuesday, King County Executive Ron Sims turned down SWA's request for gates at Boeing Field, along with a similar request from Alaska Airlines, citing concerns about possibile litigation, noise issues and traffic congestion.

FMI: www.friendsofboeingfield.org