Austin, Texas, is the winner in Southwest’s latest expansion, landing six of eight new routes declared by the airline on Thursday.
The move is the most advanced boost for Austin, which has converted to one of the hottest aviation markets in the nation.
A number of carriers have increased their presence there during the past year, including American and Allegiant.
- Southwest’s expansion appears as rivals have looked to grow in Austin, where a booming economy and rapid population growth have made it an attractive market for new service. Southwest previously announced added new route from Austin in July and seven in March.
Southwest will offer nonstop service from Austin to
With the latest additions declared Thursday, Southwest will offer nonstop service from Austin to 46 destinations on up to 105 departures a day.
Southwest was already the top carrier in Austin in June, accounting for about 35% of traveler traffic there, according to figures from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Among Southwest’s Austin additions are new routes to each coast – Charleston, South Carolina, in the East and Ontario, California, in the West – as well as new international service to the Mexican resort destination of Puerto Vallarta.
Elsewhere, Southwest will add two other new routes.
One will connect Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Burbank, California, while the other will feature Saturday-only service between Denver and Cozumel, Mexico.
Southwest said it will ramp up its schedule to Hawaii by
Additionally, Southwest said it will ramp up its schedule to Hawaii by restoring service or adding flights on several routes it had previously announced.
More broadly, the addition of new routes to Southwest’s map comes as the airline moved to extend its booking schedule through April 24.
- The new schedule presents an opening for bargain seekers, start up a new batch of the carrier’s cheapest “Wanna Get Away” advance-purchase fares on routes across its network – including for most spring break dates.
A search for March 17 flights from Baltimore (BWI) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), for example, showed one-way nonstop fares for as little as $168 or 11,859 Rapid Rewards points.
Similarly, a one-way March 17 flight from Phoenix (PHX) to Honolulu (HNL) was priced at $204 one-way (14,799 Rapid Rewards points).
Travelers who book with Rapid Rewards points can redeposit them with no penalty should plans change.
A complete list of Southwest’s new routes is below.
- Southwest’s new routes from Austin (AUS)
- Amarillo, Texas (AMA): Daily service begins March 10.
- Charleston, South Carolina (CHS): Daily service begins March 10.
- Columbus, Ohio (CMH)*: Daily service begins March 10.
- Midland-Odessa, Texas (MAF): Daily service begins March 10.
- Ontario, California (ONT): Daily service begins March 10.
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR): Seasonal, Saturday-only service begins March 12.* Southwest will fly nonstop between Austin and Columbus on certain peak-travel dates in 2021. Regular nonstop service begins March 10.
Southwest’s other new routes
- Albuquerque, New Mexico (ABQ)-Burbank, California (BUR): Daily service begins Jan. 17.
- Denver (DEN)-Cozumel, Mexico (CZM): Saturday-only service begins March 12.
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