Southwest Airlines Plan Flies : Travel: Supervisors approve 17 daily flights out of John Wayne Airport for the Dallas-based carrier.

Southwest Airlines, whose reputation for no frills service and cut-rate fares have made it one of the most traveled in the nation, made a smooth landing Tuesday into the Orange County airline market.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to grant the Dallas-based airline 17 daily flights. The familiar brown-and-orange jets could be buzzing the local skies above John Wayne Airport by spring.

“We’ve been interested in the Orange County market for some time,” Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart said from his Dallas office. “The mood here is ‘Let’s go as soon as possible.’ You’ll see the airport stimulated because of the low fares that we bring.”

Board members, however, denied Reno Air’s entry to John Wayne because of the airport’s limited capacity for carriers operating noisier aircraft.

Reno “just had the wrong kind of airplanes,” said board Chairman Thomas F. Riley, whose name is affixed to the local terminal. “But getting Southwest is a major accomplishment in making Orange County more competitive and offering increased service. People have been saying that it’s great to get them here.”

Although expected for months, Southwest’s arrival in Orange County already had local travel agents inquiring Tuesday about possible travel routes and anticipating a new round of fare wars.

“We have a lot of clients who want a good value for an airline ticket,” said Carol Grabski, a Costa Mesa-based travel consultant. “The other airlines will have to respond if they want to remain competitive.”

Other agents said they had been fielding dozens of calls from people asking about how they can cash in on the new service.

“Most of our experienced travelers are real anxious and well aware that Southwest is coming,” said Cindy Deibert, assistant manager of Domestic World Travel Inc. in Tustin.

Deibert said that as many as 20% of Domestic World’s leisure travel clients now drive from Orange County to either Los Angeles or Ontario to fly Southwest and take advantage of lower fares.

“It’s wonderful news that they will be operating out of John Wayne,” she said. “They have a great program and the prices are hard to beat.”

Stewart said Southwest has yet to decide on Orange County routes or when the airline would begin service. County officials said they expected service by June 1, and Stewart said that date was possible under Southwest’s current plans.

“Right now, all we can say to travelers is stay tuned,” he said. “We’re doing everything in our power to get the ball rolling.”

The airline’s entry to Orange County was virtually assured when it acquired Morris Air in Salt Lake City last December. Morris, another low-fare carrier, operates two daily flights from John Wayne to Salt Lake City. With the purchase, Southwest became a recognized carrier at John Wayne and was entitled to higher priority status for the open slots.

For now, Stewart said Morris will continue to operate the daily flights to Salt Lake City under Southwest’s management. Under the agreement with the county, Southwest is entitled to two additional flight slots by April 1 and 13 more after June 1.

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Local travel agents expect Southwest to challenge other major carriers by offering discount fares on popular routes to Phoenix, Oakland and San Jose. Stewart said it was too early to say whether those cities would be among the routes offered out of Orange County.

“I think it’s just great,” Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder said after the Southwest vote. “Right now, if I were going to fly to Arizona and I had a choice between flying American and Southwest, I’d fly Southwest to get a better deal. It seems like Orange County has the highest costs for plane tickets in the Southern California basin. I’ve flown out of Ontario just because of the fares.”

With the addition of Orange County, Southwest will fly out of nine California cities--San Jose, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, Burbank, Los Angeles, Ontario and San Diego.

Perhaps the only person left unhappy by Tuesday’s board decision was Reno Air Vice President Paul H. Tate.

Under an alternate proposal considered by the board, Tate said Reno could have gained entry to John Wayne if Southwest was awarded one less flight and if United and Alaska airlines each gave one slot.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” Tate said, adding that the airline would apply again next year.

Mike Gatzke, the county’s airport attorney, said Reno operates noisier MD-80 series aircraft, making it eligible only for a limited number of flights under John Wayne’s strict noise regulations.

Currently, Gatzke said, two cargo carriers are preparing environmental impact statements in their applications for remaining slots in Reno’s same noise category.

Gatzke said the cargo carriers were on the waiting list ahead of Reno. And since the carriers’ environmental statements were already being prepared, the attorney said the board decision against Reno gave the cargo carriers a “fair opportunity.”