Southwest Airlines sees 'daylight' with extra flights for Taylor Swift US tour dates

Southwest Airlines is the latest airline to jump into its Swiftie era.

The airline will add a dozen flights to its schedule in October as Taylor Swift's Eras Tour returns to the U.S. following a summer of shows across Europe.

The additions will come in South Florida and New Orleans as the tour visits the two areas in late October. The full list of extra flights is:

Thursday, Oct. 17

• Flight 22: Departs Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) at 8:25 a.m. and arrives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) at 11:05 a.m.
• Flight 1989: Departs Nashville International Airport (BNA) at 2 p.m. and arrives at Miami International Airport (MIA) at 5:15 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 20

• Flight 1213: Departs FLL at 4:35 p.m. and arrives at BWI at 7:05 p.m.
• Flight 1313: Departs MIA at 10:30 a.m. and arrives at BNA at 11:50 a.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24

• Flight 22: Departs BWI at 9:25 a.m. and arrives at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) at 11:15 a.m.
• Flight 1313: Departs Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) at 2:20 p.m. and arrives at MSY at 3:40 p.m.

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Friday, Oct. 25

• Flight 1213: Departs San Antonio International Airport (SAT) at 7:15 a.m. and arrives at MSY at 8:35 a.m.
• Flight 1989: Departs Dallas Love Field (DAL) at 10:15 a.m. and arrives at MSY at 11:35 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 27

• Flight 22: Departs MSY at 4:45 p.m. and arrives at BWI at 8:10 p.m.
• Flight 1313: Departs MSY at 12:25 p.m. and arrives at AUS at 1:55 p.m.
• Flight 1213: Departs MSY at 7:55 a.m. and arrives at SAT at 9:35 a.m.
• Flight 1989: Departs MSY at 11:55 a.m. and arrives at DAL at 1:25 p.m.

Following New Orleans, the tour heads to Indianapolis for three performances at Lucas Oil Stadium. Southwest has not added flights to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) yet — while the airline has seen significant spikes in flight searches and bookings for the first two stops, there hasn't been as much of a surge for IND, a carrier spokesperson said. The airline may add flights to IND if that changes, the spokesperson added.

After Indianapolis, the tour heads north of the border for a series of dates in Canada in November.

It's common for airlines to add a handful of flights or frequencies to support major events, ranging from sports finals to large conventions like the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Perhaps the industry could coin it "the Taylor Swift effect" — a play on "the Southwest effect" terminology introduced in the 1990s when Southwest emerged as a disrupter in the airline industry.

Similarly, the Taylor Swift effect has had an outsize impact on airlines and the broader travel industry. During the first U.S. segment of The Eras Tour, Southwest saw more than a 10% increase in bookings in most concert markets on the dates surrounding the show, a carrier spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, the tour boosted hotel demand in Asia last year, while search volume for Airbnb listings in Europe coinciding with Taylor Swift concerts was up 70% in June. Search volume was up even higher for the U.S. dates.

In September, the U.S. Travel Association reported that the total economic impact of the tour likely exceeded $10 billion when considering direct travel expenses and indirect spending, while a QuestionPro report found that the tour had a total of $5 billion in direct impact on the economies of 20 different cities visited by the first U.S. tour.

As airlines struggle with higher costs and a softening domestic revenue market, the boost from the Taylor Swift effect clearly helps to fill a blank space.

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