Southwest Airlines should be permitted to move to Boeing Field if it wants to. Those who engage in knee-jerk opposition to this idea are simply not looking at the big picture.

Southwest complains that costs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will increase nearly sixfold by 2009 as a result of the facility's renovation and expansion. If something reasonable isn't done to rein in costs, Southwest wants to move its operations — or failing that, it may discontinue service to the Seattle-Tacoma area altogether.

This happens in the airline business all the time. If an airline can't make money in a market, it either has to cut costs or cut service.

If Southwest were to discontinue service to the Seattle-Tacoma region, airfares would skyrocket. If Southwest simply moves to Boeing Field and triples its service as suggested, more cities would get more low fares. Airlines at Sea-Tac Airport would have to match the reductions because of the close proximity of Boeing Field and Sea-Tac, resulting in more low fares for more passengers.

And Sea-Tac Airport might actually find a way to cut costs for the remaining airlines, just as other airports around the nation have. That would be good for the airline industry as a whole.

The hand-wringers are already worried that if Southwest leaves Sea-Tac for Boeing Field, Sea-Tac will lose 8 percent of its revenue. That will happen anyway if Southwest discontinues service altogether.

The benefits to the area around Boeing Field if Southwest moved there are plentiful: jobs at the airport; improvements to the airport, such as a new terminal; jobs with vendors, and revenue to the county. And new businesses could spring up close by.

There are challenges to be overcome. Noise and vehicle traffic are two of the most obvious ones. King County Councilman Larry Phillips wants air traffic to go over Elliott Bay instead of Magnolia, where he lives. His colleague, Dwight Pelz, is worried about noise in the neighborhoods he represents surrounding the airport.

These are not insurmountable issues. Southwest has long experience in operating from airports where noise is a particular concern. Dallas Love Field and Chicago Midway airports are just two examples. Southwest is accustomed to employing noise-abatement procedures, and it operates Boeing 737s, which are powered by among the quietest engines flying. In fact, Southwest's 737s are quieter than any traditional corporate jet and many cargo jets now using Boeing Field.

Concerns have been raised about vehicle traffic and the lack of freeway access to the airport. In fact, freeway access exists on the north and south end of the airport, with traffic emptying onto Airport Way South after a couple of blocks. This traffic goes through industrial and business areas. There are many airports — Dallas Love Field and Chicago Midway among them, each far busier than Boeing Field would be — that don't have direct freeway access but rather rely on surface streets.

Eighty flights a day at Southwest's historical load factors will generate an estimated 7,560 passengers a day. Some of these will be couples or families, some will be singles, some will come by cabs, and some by shuttle. Sound Transit could consider creating a station by the tracks that run along Airport Way South, and that could accommodate some travelers.

The benefits to consumers and the county of Southwest relocating to Boeing Field outweigh the challenges. Let Southwest move, and give it a rousing level of support to do so.