Southwest Airlines announced some big changes today. For better or for worse, Boise was not included on the list. I wasn't expecting any increase in service or capacity after what recently happened but I was a little nervous when I saw the headline that we could possibly see further reductions (Recent losses of American Eagle, SeaPort and Southwest routes have left me cynical). Seems Albuquerque suffered a similar reduction to Boise's this time around; they lost 3 non-stop routes. For a full run-down see:
http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/sc...tember-28-2012
IMO, Southwest is going to have to make some changes, and hopefully this schedule is part of those necessary changes, to remain competitive. It may seem like Southwest is a giant, and they are, but they are no longer a low-cost carrier in the most important sense of the term: price. Yes they are a low-cost carrier because they lack airport lounges and a first/business class and because the staff is quirky and casual instead of formal. They fly a point-to-point system instead of the legacy airlines' hub routes. But their tickets are no longer undercutting the competition. My two most recent flights, BOI-PDX and SLC-PDX were more expensive on Southwest than Alaska and Delta. We weren't checking any bags but we STILL could have flown cheaper on AS/DL if checking a bag and paying the fee.
From what I observe, Southwest has avoided charging itinerary change fees and baggage fees by keeping their fares higher. Now that the public is accustomed to paying to check a bag, Southwest could begin charging for bags and keep their fares lower for those who only carry-on. This would fly in the face of their marketing strategy of no fees, I don't expect it to happen anytime soon.
Regular fare-checking shows that sometimes Southwest is less and sometimes the other carriers are less, but if Southwest wants to make a case for themselves being a low-cost carrier then their fares should reliably be lower than the alternatives. If not, people are going to bail for airlines that reward loyalty by giving lounge access, upgrades to Business/First, connections to the world, allow booking and fare comparisons on 3rd party sites, etc...
Sorry for the rant, I'd be happy to hear feedback... I just think Southwest became too complacent with being the sweetheart airline of the early 2000s. They were the only ones turning a profit and expanding service when the other carriers were going belly-up. When the fortunes began to look more positive for the other airlines, Southwest refused to change their business model...
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Boise International Airport does sound sexy
Here is a minor update from a week ago. Somewhere else I read that construction is to begin next year. Seems strange when they have had the money to build this for years. 
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