As of March 2015, Southwest Airlines schedules flights to 93 destinations in 41 states, Puerto Rico and abroad, the newest being Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) on November 2, 2014. The airline has 15 focus cities and operates over 3,400 flights each day.
§Destinations
Southwest does not use the "hub and spoke" system of other major airlines, preferring the "point-to-point" system. It has large operations in certain airports. An average of 80 percent of Southwest passengers are local passengers-- only 20 percent of all passengers are connecting passengers. This is higher than most airlines, where many passengers connect in hub cities. However, at Southwest's focus cities, the percentage of connecting passengers can reach 30 percent. Recent numbers indicate that the number of connecting passengers is steadily rising.
As part of its effort to control costs, Southwest sometimes uses secondary airports in cities with high costs. Secondary airports have lower costs and may be more convenient to travelers than major airports. Some examples include:
- Chicago, Illinois: Southwest uses Chicago Midway International Airport instead of O'Hare International Airport.
- Dallas, Texas: Southwest uses Dallas Love Field instead of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
- Houston, Texas: Southwest uses William P. Hobby Airport instead of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
§AirTran cities acquired by Southwest
Through Southwest's acquisition of AirTran Airways, Southwest added service to the following destinations.
§International service
Southwest began planning international service when it acquired AirTran, which already served international destinations. Southwest's first approach to international service came on April 19, 2012 when it signed a contract with the Amadeus IT Group to launch an international reservation system. This agreement gave the airline the capability to begin flying to destinations outside of the United States. Southwest debuted the international reservation system on January 27, 2014 when its first international flights went on sale. This was followed by the first international flights which began on July 1, 2014 to Aruba (AUA), Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS).
Through the integration of AirTran, Southwest added service to Aruba (AUA), Cancun, Mexico (CUN), Mexico City, Mexico (MEX), Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ), Nassau, Bahamas (NAS), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) and San Jose Cabo, Mexico (SJD).
Southwest is in the process of building a 5 gate international terminal at William P. Hobby Airport. The terminal is scheduled to be complete in Fall 2015. On December 11, 2014, Southwest announced that pending government approval, it plans to start service from Houston-Hobby to six international destinations. This is in addition to Aruba, a US preclearance airport, previously announced and starting in March 2015. Southwest is also in the process of building a 5 gate international terminal in Fort Lauderdale scheduled for completion in 2017.
§Chart
As of March 2015, this is a list of destinations that Southwest Airlines serves.
§References
§External links
- Southwest Airlines Route Map
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