AIRLINES

Southwest Starts Orange County Service: Price-cutting Southwest Airlines starts service today at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport with 15 round-trip daily flights to the San Francisco Bay Area. Southwest, based in Ft. Worth, Tex., will offer seven daily flights to Oakland and eight to San Jose for an unrestricted one-way price of $69. Advance-purchase discounts could cut the price to as low as $49 one way. Airlines competing with Southwest on routes to Oakland and San Jose say they will match the fares. “Orange County typically has higher average fares than Los Angeles,” said Dave Messing, a spokesman for Continental Airlines. “Signs are now that is changing.”