As of November 2023, Southwest Airlines has scheduled flights to over 100 destinations[1] in 42 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the newest being Syracuse, New York on November 14, 2021. The airline has 15 focus cities and operates over 4,000 flights each day.[2]
Destinations
![Plane pictured as it passes over Downtown [[San Jose]] and [[Highway 87]].](../I/Southwest_737_landing_in_SJC.jpg.webp)
Southwest does not use the "hub and spoke" system of other major airlines, preferring instead the "point-to-point" system with focus cities.[3] It has large operations in certain airports. An average of 80 percent of Southwest passengers are local passengers—only 20 percent are connecting passengers, a lower percentage than on most major airlines, where many passengers connect in hub cities. However, at Southwest's focus cities, the percentage of connecting passengers can reach 30 percent.[4] As part of its effort to control costs, Southwest historically used secondary airports in cities where the primary airports have high costs, such as Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Miami. In recent years however, the airline has been expanding into primary airports as well.[5]
In most cities where Southwest uses both a primary and secondary airport, the secondary airport is used more than the primary for flights (such as Oakland instead of San Francisco), with some exceptions such as the Los Angeles metro area, where Los Angeles International is a Southwest base and secondary airports (such as Burbank, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Ontario) have limited Southwest operations despite having a higher market share at the smaller airports. Until 2006, Southwest did not fly into Denver,[6] which is now its most popular destination.
Unlike most other U.S. airlines, Southwest does not fly outside North America, and it does not fly to Canada due to its payment system not being set up for Canadian dollars (however, Southwest does market Bellingham to cater to Canadian passengers in the Vancouver and Southern BC area as a low cost alternative to Vancouver International Airport).[7]
International service
Southwest began planning international service when it acquired AirTran Airways, which already served international destinations. Southwest's first approach to international service came on April 19, 2012, when it signed a contract with the Amadeus IT Group to launch an international reservation system. This agreement gave the airline the capability to begin flying to destinations outside of the United States.[8]
Southwest debuted the international reservation system on January 27, 2014, when its first international flights went on sale. This was followed by the first international flights which began on July 1, 2014, to Aruba (AUA), Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS).
Southwest built a 5-gate international terminal at William P. Hobby Airport that opened in 2015. Southwest also built a 5-gate international terminal in Fort Lauderdale that opened in 2017.[9] In 2021, a 5-gate extension of terminal A at Baltimore/Washington International Airport opened. Southwest is the sole occupant of Terminal A and it invested significantly in the creation of the extension.[10]
Busiest airports
As of January 03, 2024, there are 20 airports at which Southwest Airlines has over 80 daily departures.[11]
Current destinations
As of October 2023, Southwest Airlines flies to 121 destinations.
Terminated destinations
Notes:
References
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines - Route Map". www.southwest.com.
- ↑ "Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet - Corporate Fact Sheet - Southwest Airlines Newsroom". swamedia.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Southwest route map". FlightConnections.com. June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ↑ Jeremy Sickler. "Chapter 7: Flight Arrival Flow: Southwest vs. Legacy Carriers". Archived from the original on May 19, 2004. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines comes to Chicago O'Hare, Houston Intercontinental, won't abandon Midway, Hobby". USA Today. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines begins service in Denver, announces additional flights and destinations". Southwest Airlines. Investor relations. January 3, 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ↑ Pallini, Thomas. "Southwest Airlines Reveals Why It Doesn't Fly to Canada". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines Newsroom: Releases". Swamedia.com. April 19, 2012. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport overhauls terminal to add international travel". Sun Sentinel.
- ↑ Wood, Pamela (May 17, 2021). "BWI's newest concourse opens with spacious restrooms, five additional gates, extra charging outlets". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ↑ "City Fact Sheets".
- 1 2 Mutzabaugh, Ben (June 29, 2017). "Southwest drops two routes to Cuba; Havana flights to stay". USA Today.
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines Reports Fourth Quarter And Annual Profit; 46th Consecutive Year Of Profitability - Southwest Airlines Newsroom". swamedia.com. January 24, 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Openings/Closings - By Category - Southwest Airlines Newsroom". swamedia.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- 1 2 "Southwest Airlines To Cease Operations In Three Cities - Southwest Airlines Newsroom". swamedia.com. December 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Southwest Airlines pulls plug on flights from Flint". November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- ↑ "Southwest Reports Record Second Quarter Revenues And Earnings Per Share". Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- 1 2 Southwest Airlines to leave Akron-Canton; plans new flights to Atlanta, St. Louis from Cleveland Hopkins (Cleveland.com)
- ↑ Robert Mueller Municipal Airport