Southwest adds 3 routes, but cuts 5 others in winter schedule extension
Southwest Airlines is making even more tweaks to its network as it extends its schedule into 2026.
The Dallas-based airline will add three routes later this year, including two from one of the airline's fastest-growing airports. This includes never-before-operated service from Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., and to El Paso International Airport (ELP) in Texas.
Both of these routes will operate during the Thanksgiving holiday period and might be added to future schedules depending on how they perform.
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Southwest will enjoy a monopoly on the new El Paso connection, but United Airlines already operates multiple daily flights between BNA and IAD.
Meanwhile, Southwest will once again add service between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, a route that hasn't been operated since January 2018, Cirium schedules show. This route will be operated seasonally throughout the winter.
Southwest will also resume a slew of other routes that were operated in recent years, such as San Diego to Omaha, which last flew in May 2020, and Chicago to Tampa, which last flew in June 2024.
But while the airline is certainly adding some noteworthy new flights, perhaps the bigger news is the five markets that Southwest is permanently exiting. You'll find the full list below, but highlights include a noteworthy pullback in two California cities, Burbank and Long Beach.
- Baltimore-Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Burbank-New Orleans
- Burbank-San Antonio
- Long Beach-El Paso
- Long Beach-St. Louis
Furthermore, the suspension of service between Baltimore and Chicago will leave the route exclusively served by American Airlines and United.
All of these routes will be cut in November. Southwest will make 13 other route cuts during the winter (seen in the map below), but these are marked as seasonal and are slated to return soon.
Interestingly, Southwest will also shuffle its nascent red-eye schedule for the winter season. The airline will go from 27 to 23 daily red-eye flights from October to November. San Jose, California, to Baltimore will be the only market to (seasonally) lose service with the red-eye adjustment, while three other markets will be retimed to daylight flying with the same frequencies as originally scheduled.
The affected red-eyes include Sacramento to Baltimore, Los Angeles to Houston and Phoenix to Atlanta.
All told, these changes come as Southwest's network planners have been going through the airline's route map with a fine-tooth comb, trimming service that might not be immediately profitable and shifting to higher-priority markets like Nashville, San Diego and Sacramento.
Southwest isn't just being especially prudent about where it flies; it is also being very intentional about which days it operates each flight. In November, the airline will operate a whopping seven rotating schedules to better match capacity with demand. As such, travelers can expect to see different flight times and operating schedules depending on the day of the week and the time of the month they're flying.
Despite these changes, Southwest's route map will still largely look like it did before Elliott Investment Management, the activist investor group, started putting immense pressure on Southwest to boost profitability.
Nearly everything else about the airline — including the two-bags-fly-free promise, open boarding, lack of extra-legroom seats and refusal to add basic economy — is changing. The jury is still out on whether this will change travelers' flying patterns, but at least Southwest isn't fully upending its network.
Travelers can now book Southwest flights through Jan. 5, 2026.
Related reading:
- Your complete guide to maximizing Southwest Rapid Rewards
- The best Southwest Airlines credit cards
- How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass
- Southwest A-List status: What it is and how to earn it
- Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
- The best credit cards to reach elite status
- How to change or cancel a Southwest Airlines flight
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