Starting today, with six flights a day (2 x Baltimore, 2 x Chicago Midway, 1 x Houston Hobby, 1 x Orlando) as a replacement for Air Tran service to Atlanta and Baltimore from the CLT. Will this have much impact on air fares out of Charlotte? Or put another way, will we see a “Southwest Effect” (many more people flying at much lower average fares) here in Charlotte?

No, not unless Southwest substantially increases the number of flights they’re offering from Charlotte. Essentially, we got the benefit of increased competition in 2005 when AirTran came to town, the Southwest-for-AirTran replacement just changes the brand providing service.

Bonus observation
: Southwest has released their schedule through the end of October, with CLT at six flights a day throughout. The airline’s press release today didn’t mention any additional flights either.