Southwest Airlines is making some notable adjustments to its network.
This time around, the Dallas-based airline is adding four routes to its winter schedule. Although the airline announced These flights are “new routes,” technically none of which are new because they have all been operated in recent years, according to TPG’s Cirium schedule analysis.
Additional Southwest routes include:
- From Miami to Columbus, Ohio (last service January 2022)
- Miami to Pittsburgh (last service April 2022)
- Chicago — specifically Midway International Airport (MDW) — to Palm Springs, California (last operations January 2022)
- West Palm Beach, Florida, to Providence (last service April 2023)
The four new routes will start on January 7, 2025, and are clearly aimed at transporting travelers from frigid cities to warmer pastures at the height of winter. The new flights are available to book now.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately after its peak, this tried and true strategy Take the winter-weary travelers on a trip to the entertainment to California and Florida proved very popular with US airlines.
However, in recent months, revenue and bookings at many of these popular leisure destinations have declined slightly. due to overloadSo it will be interesting to see how Southwest performs in these markets this coming winter.
It’s not all good news for Southwest’s network or its passengers, however. Over the weekend, the airline filed plans to suspend 11 routes during the winter months, first seen by TPG in a Cirium schedule and later confirmed by an airline spokesperson.
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Here’s a full list of affected routes, many of which previously only operated once a week.
- Atlanta to San Diego
- From Chicago to Rochester, New York
- Dallas to Philadelphia
- From Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Long Beach, California, to Colorado Springs, Colorado
- From Miami to New Orleans
- From Nashville to Oakland, California
- Nashville to San Jose, California
- Oakland to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
- Orlando to Chicago
- Orlando to El Paso, Texas
Southwest told TPG that this is a “seasonal suspension,” meaning the airline plans to resume flying in the future. However, the airline has yet to announce a resumption date, so we’ll have to wait and see if it follows through on its promise.
“We are always monitoring travel trends and adjusting our schedules to support our customers, employees and operations,” Southwest said in a statement about the suspension.
Over the past few months, Southwest has made a series of changes to its network focused on increasing profits. It has reduced four cities in all: Bellingham, Washington; Cozumel, Mexico; Syracuse, New York; and Houston — specifically George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). It has also escaped six other routes.
Earlier this year, Southwest even cut a popular route to Hawaii: Los Angeles to Maui.
The positive is that these cuts have allowed Southwest to find demand in other markets, the airline added. 11 new routes in April and Mayand even revealed a long list One-time flight for the upcoming NFL season.
All of these network adjustments come as the airline makes major changes to the passenger experience. This month, Southwest announced that it would abandon open seating policy support seat allocation to begin in the coming months.
Southwest will also install seats with more legroom and will debut red eye flight next year.
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