DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co. said Wednesday it would offer elite business travelers the chance to pay higher ...
DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co. said Wednesday it would offer elite business travelers the chance to pay higher fares to board sooner and get frequent-flier bonuses and a cocktail. The airline hopes the new "business select" fares will raise more than $100 million next year, but Southwest might curtail growth again as it grapples with rising fuel prices. Chief Executive Gary Kelly said Southwest, which slowed the pace at which it was adding flights in June, is considering another reduction in expansion plans that call for adding 19 planes next year. Kelly said he didn't know how much Southwest might slow growth, which was 5.3 percent in October. "I don't think we would go to zero growth," Kelly said. Any further reductions in flights probably won't occur until at least May, he added.
