Southwest Airlines announced yesterday that it will begin flying to Raleigh, N.C., further expanding its presence on the East Coast and fueling more growth at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

The airline will fly 12 daily flights to Raleigh-Durham International Airport beginning June 6, including four daily flights from BWI.

Airline officials said they were drawn to the Raleigh-Durham region's mix of business and leisure travelers, plus its proximity to four major universities. The new service also rounds out coverage in the Southeast for the Dallas carrier, which serves Nashville, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala., and several cities in Florida.

With the new flights to Raleigh, and service to Islip, N.Y., beginning March 14, Southwest will have 86 daily flights at BWI. The airline's growth caused its primary competitor at BWI, US Airways, to create the spinoff airline MetroJet largely to compete against Southwest's low fares.

Holding true to its history of undercutting competitors' fares, Southwest announced yesterday that round-trip flights between Raleigh-Durham and BWI will cost as little as $78 when purchased in advance. US Airways' lowest round-trip fair between the two cities is $146. Southwest's unrestricted, walk-up fare will be $65 one-way, compared with a $297 one-way fare offered by other airlines.

Besides Baltimore, Southwest will also fly from Raleigh-Durham to Nashville, Chicago, Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla.

Pub Date: 3/05/99