Milwaukee. What’s this all about? Southwest has, after all, been adding major markets lately — Minneapolis, New York, Boston this year — and Milwaukee is, well, not quite in that same category. Essentially a strategic response to AirTran’s build up in the Brew City.
So how does this effect when (and it is a when, not an if) Southwest comes to CLT? Charlotte is the second largest market Southwest doesn’t serve. LUV is entering new markets by shifting capacity from weak routes in the current soft economy. If Southwest doesn’t announce CLT before the economy starts to come back, then it almost certainly won’t happen for a good three or four more years.
