It plans to launch service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina next quarter, followed by Eugene, Oregon in the third quarter and Bellingham, Washington in the fourth quarter. This Monday, the airline added three more cities to its expansion plans. Late last month, the carrier announced that it would launch service to two new leisure destinations in May: Bozeman, Montana and Destin/Fort Walton Beach on Florida's Gulf Coast. Southwest Airlines has continued to find a broad range of expansion opportunities in 2021. The airline will also resume service to Jackson, Mississippi in June. Similarly, it will add flights to Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport next month. For example, it launched service at Chicago's business-centric O'Hare International Airport last month.
However, Southwest has cast a wide net as it looks to grow its route network and isn't limiting itself to leisure destinations. Its first new additions included popular ski areas (Montrose and Telluride in Colorado) as well as warm-weather destinations (Miami Sarasota, Florida and Palm Springs). In expanding its route map, Southwest has mainly focused on leisure-friendly destinations. This ongoing route map expansion is becoming a meaningful threat for Southwest's biggest rivals: American Airlines ( AAL 1.77%), Delta Air Lines ( DAL 0.81%), and United Airlines ( UAL 3.60%). In recent weeks, the carrier has added five more airports to its route map. Rather than trying to deploy more capacity in existing markets where demand won't fully recover for a while, the low-fare airline giant is entering new markets to put more of its aircraft and crews to work.ĭuring 2020, Southwest announced plans to begin serving 12 new destinations. With air travel demand remaining depressed relative to pre-pandemic levels, Southwest Airlines ( LUV 0.00%) has made route map expansion a core recovery strategy.
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