Summary Southwest Airlines is adding six new routes to popular spring break destinations in March 2025. The airline is discontinuing five existing routes, including flights to West Palm Beach and New Orleans. Southwest is shifting to assigned seating and introducing red-eye flights for the first time in its 53-year history.
Southwest Airlines has been changing its route network and operational model. The latest change is the introduction of six brand-new routes. However, it is also canceling another five existing routes.
The schedule extends through April 7th next year in a bid to cover the spring break travel period, which is one of the busiest and most lucrative periods for airlines in the US. Out with the old and in with the new According to The Points Guy , the new routes are all popular spring break destinations and will be introduced in March 2025, just in time for travelers to book holiday flights. The new routes Southwest Airlines is introducing in chronological order are: March 6th: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE).
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO). Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Indianapolis International Airport (IND). Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to Tucson International Airport (TUS).
The flights from AUS to MKE will operate on weekdays, and the flights to RNO will operate on weekends. March 8th: Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The two new international flights will be operated once a week on Saturdays. Southwest already flies internationally from BNA to Cancun and hopes to attract more leisure travelers by introducing flights to Mexico and the Caribbean. The addition of the regional route from IND to BNA also helps feed traffic to their international destinations.
Southwest is now Nashville’s largest airline, and introducing these new destinations only solidifies its position at the airport. Older ones are being cut to make way for these new routes, some of which have been in operation for extended periods. The list is as follows: Atlanta to West Palm Beach, Florida Burbank to New Orleans Burbank to San Antonio New York to Tampa Long Beach to Kansas City, Missouri Unfortunately, the airline failed to mention when these destinations will be cut and why they are being cut.
However, it’s most likely due to a lack of traffic, even though three of the five routes have existed for less than two years. Airlines quickly cancel routes that don’t meet their expectations as competition increases and margins become thinner. Southwest is also halting service on 15 other routes on a seasonal basis.
Most of these routes were only operated once a week, on Saturdays. Other changes Assigned seating Last month, Southwest announced a monumental change: the end of ‘open’ seating . The budget carrier has famously avoided assigned seating for decades but has now conformed to industry standards and will feature assigned seats from next year onwards.
The change means passengers can pay extra to pick their preferred seating locations. However, it will come at an additional cost. It is one of the main methods airlines use to rake in cash, and Southwest can now take advantage of this policy.
Overnight flights In its 53 years of operation, Southwest has not had a single red-eye flight. However, this will change starting February next year . The airline has introduced a list of five transcontinental long-haul routes that pass through multiple time zones.
They are: Los Angeles-Baltimore: 21:30-05:20+1 Las Vegas-Baltimore: 22:00-05:30+1 Las Vegas-Orlando: 22:50-06:05+1 Phoenix-Baltimore: 23:05-05:10+1 Los Angeles-Nashville: 23:45-06:00+1 The former United CEO advises Southwest to stick with its new course..
