Southwest unveils 7 new routes covering 10 cities — and new Costa Rica service
Southwest Airlines is already the top carrier in Austin, Texas — but now it's doubling down.
The airline on Thursday unveiled three new or returning routes that'll launch this fall later this year from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
The flights include nonstop service to California Wine Country, as well as multiple cities in Tennessee.
Southwest's expansion in the Texas capital came as part of a larger seven-route announcement on Thursday, revealed as the carrier extended its schedule for booking through the month of October.
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The schedule includes new links to Costa Rica, New England and southwest Texas.
Southwest's 7 new and returning routes
Here's the full rundown of flights that will launch in early October:
| Route | Notes | New route, or a previously flown route returning? |
|---|---|---|
AUS to Memphis International Airport (MEM) | Year-round | Returning |
AUS to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport (STS) in California | Saturdays, seasonal | New |
AUS to McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville, Tennessee | Saturdays, seasonal | New |
Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica | Daily, year-round | New |
Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) | Year-round | New |
BNA to El Paso International Airport (ELP) | Year-round | Returning |
BNA to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) | Year-round | Returning |
Southwest's new service from Las Vegas to San Jose, Costa Rica, will be notable because of the time of day it will operate: that route will be the carrier's first international red-eye flight — departing late at night and landing the next morning in Central America.
Keep in mind, Southwest didn't operate any overnight flights until a year ago.
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Largest-ever schedule at AUS, LAS, BNA, SAN
Southwest plans to operate its largest-ever schedule at four major airports where it's focused much of its growth over the last couple of years: AUS, LAS, BNA and San Diego International Airport (SAN) — the latter of which didn't get any new routes on Thursday, but already landed a handful of new Southwest flights that will launch this summer.
As for AUS, Southwest remains far and away the dominant airline in town — though it's gotten increased competition there lately from Delta Air Lines, which has made the airport its top (non-hub) focus city.
Later this spring, Southwest plans to begin its first flights to Alaska. In a fairly unsurprising announcement on Thursday, the carrier said those flights, which will fly from Denver International Airport (DEN) and LAS, will be seasonal service and won't run during the winter months.
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