Elliott to Call for Special Meeting at Southwest

Southwest Airlines raised its revenue guidance for the third quarter as it plans to announce more changes during its investor day on Thursday. 

Southwest Airlines announced a three-year plan on Thursday to revitalize its operation and customer offerings as it defends against an activist investor calling for new leadership and a strategy overhaul.

Southwest Airlines is extending its flight schedule into early next summer and introducing new destinations from its Nashville hub. The airline, which usually releases its schedule eight months in advance, has just released its booking calendar through June 4, 2025, announced Wednesday. With the schedule update, the carrier has announced several key updates across its network. For starters, the carrier will expand significantly out of Nashville International Airport (BNA), which has been one of Southwest's fastest-growing hubs and newest crew bases.  Starting April 8, 2025, the carrier will begin daily service from Nashville to Albuquerque, Jackson, and Tulsa; as well as up to 6x weekly flights to Providence and up to 5x weekly flights to Albany. In addition, the airline will offer “intra-Tennessee service for the first time” with its brand-new, once-daily service from Nashville to Memphis.  “The new flights will boost Southwest’s scheduled presence in Nashville to an all-time high of 174 Sunday departures in April and May 2025,” the airline wrote in a statement. The new route announcement comes as the airline is undergoing notable changes, as Southwest will introduce its first-ever overnight flights to its network next February. With today’s announcement, the airline shared a few more routes that will see redeye service — flights from Honolulu to Las Vegas and Phoenix, Kona to Las Vegas, and Maui to Las Vegas and Phoenix will be offered as red-eyes starting April 8, 2025.

Southwest Airlines said Wednesday that it would reduce service and staff in Atlanta due to a lack of demand. 

Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" returns to the U.S. next month, and while I'm no Swiftie, I have a 9-year-old daughter who's a massive fan. I may not be able to belt out the lyrics to many of her songs, but I do have a ton of experience leveraging my travel credit cards and knowledge of points and miles to make memories with my family.

At a time when most airlines, budget or otherwise, are determined to make you pay through the nose for any piece of luggage you want to bring with you on a flight, Avelo Airlines, is going against the grain. Since May 25, 2024, Avelo, a US-based budget airline, lets adult passengers departing from Sonoma County Airport (STS) fly with one case of wine for free. As of September 16, 2024, however, the airline will be expanding its Wine Travel Free program to and from all its routes in the Western US.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 25, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Cathay Pacific will launch a new route from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the airline said on Tuesday.

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) is planning to increase its staff presence in the North American market and will open an official MTA office in New York in 2025, according to Carlo Micallef, CEO, speaking at an event in New York for the travel industry and travel media. The eventual objective, he said,  is to have a nonstop flight to Malta from the U.S.  

Southwest Airlines has issued a warning to employees without actually warning them. It’s more preparatory that something ominous is likely coming.

Members of American Airlines AAdvantage have a new option in South America via budget airline JetSmart.

As Apple and Google respectively expand their digital ID technologies to house state mobile driver's licenses in Apple and Google Wallet, Google has added an international travel feature to its wallet.