The Eugene Airport welcomed its first Southwest Airline flight Sunday from Las Vegas, beginning regular service to both Las Vegas and Oakland, California.
After landing, the airport celebrated the airline's addition by shooting red-, blue- and yellow-dyed water over the airplane with firetrucks as the plane rolled to the gate.
Passengers included a few returning University of Oregon students, and others who were excited to use the outbound flight to connect to larger cities for work.
Kelly Owens, an Albany resident, was at the airport to fly to Chicago for a job interview, with a layover in Las Vegas. He said he looks forward to using the new direct flights to visit family members in Las Vegas.
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"Being able to come to Eugene to fly out rather than drive to Portland is a much quicker drive with less traffic, so I like that a lot," said Owens, 54.
Cathryn Stephens, the airport's acting director, said she appreciates having Southwest added to Eugene and potentially expand its offerings in the future. She added she looks forward to the "Southwest Effect" phenomenon in which markets that Southwest enters experience a decrease in average airfares and an increase in passengers.
A few passengers such as Raegan Chase, a 17-year-old first-year University of Oregon Orange County, California, said she appreciated the flight attendants who made the trip enjoyable by rhyming the speech about seatbelt requirements.
The airline's addition also meant new jobs for roughly 25 people hired as ramp agents who offload bags and service the airplanes when they come in. It's their first job in aviation, and includes a mix of part- and full-time positions, station manager George Ohanian said Sunday.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at [email protected] or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
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