JetBlue Challenges Southwest at BWI

(MoneyWatch)  The Boston to Baltimore route appears to be getting pretty crowded these days. Just a week after Southwest announced it would serve Baltimore as one of its first destinations from Boston, JetBlue responded that it would do the same. This could get ugly.

Starting August 16, Southwest will start five daily flights from Boston to Baltimore and another five to Chicago/Midway. This is their first service from Boston, and it mirrors their first destinations from New York/LaGuardia.

In New York, it's widely believed that Southwest is looking to make it a destination for its existing travelers rather than becoming a "hometown" airline for New Yorkers. In Boston, however, the same capacity constraints don't exist, and the airline already has a strong presence with Manchester in the north and Providence in the south. So is Southwest looking to really fight for the Boston traveler?

Jetblue isn't taking any chances. The airline will start four daily flights from Boston to Baltimore in September. They already have a single daily flight to Chicago/O'Hare. So why are they doing this?

It's clearly a shot across Southwest's bow. JetBlue wants to claim Boston as theirs. This is the airline's first flight to Baltimore, though they do serve Washington/Dulles from several destinations. Why would you have your first flight from Baltimore go to the far northeast corner of the country where it can't connect to anything? Because you're not looking at the Baltimore traveler.

JetBlue wants Boston, and they are willing to defend it, apparently at a substantial loss. This route is going to be a bloodbath. Southwest and JetBlue are joining an already crowded market. Delta flies it seven times a day and AirTran flies it nine times. This is going to be painful for all involved, but the stakes are high.