Burbank Carrier to Begin Daily Flights to Sacramento

Southwest Airlines will inaugurate six daily flights to Sacramento from Burbank Airport in June, with a one-way fare of $59, officials said Tuesday.

The announcement came on the eve of a pullout by USAir, the airport’s largest carrier, which will cease operations today at the facility.

The new flights, accompanied by expanded schedules for United and American airlines, leave the airport with 74 daily flights, just six fewer than before the USAir pullout.

Richard Sweet, Southwest’s district marketing manager, said the unrestricted $59 fare, which will start June 17, will enable business people and students from Los Angeles to travel to the state capital on a one-day trip “frequently and on a strict budget.”

Sweet said a one-way ticket to Sacramento from Burbank on USAir or United Airlines commuter flights costs about $270.

The airline is also inaugurating daily flights to Sacramento from Ontario and San Diego airports.

To introduce the flights, Sweet said the airline will offer an introductory fare of $19 between Sacramento and the three airports. Tickets for the lower fare, requiring a 21-day advance purchase, must be bought by May 31 for travel through Aug. 12.

Tom Greer, director of Burbank Airport services, welcomed the new flights. “We’re thrilled,” he said. “What it does is stimulate the market, not only for them, but for other carriers as well.”

Airport spokesman Victor Gill added that the Sacramento-bound flights “would fill a gaping hole in our service.”

USAir, which had accounted for 1.2 million of the airport’s 3.5 million passengers each year, was the only carrier flying nonstop to Sacramento.

Joe Conlon, general manager for American Airlines, which flies to Sacramento through San Jose, said of the Southwest announcement: “We think it’s good, and it should stir up business for everyone.” He said some seats on the Sacramento-San Jose flights sell for $51 one-way, or $113 round-trip.

United Airlines officials had no comment on the announcement. That airline has no commercial flights now flying from Burbank to Sacramento.