There's a budget airline turf war heating up in Connecticut between the two newest U.S. airlines.
30.07.2024 - 14:41 / thepointsguy.com
Southwest Airlines is making some more notable adjustments to its network.
This time, the Dallas-based airline is adding four routes to its winter schedule. Though the airline announced these flights as "new routes," none are technically new since they've all been operated in recent years, according to TPG's analysis of Cirium schedules.
Southwest's added routes include:
The four new routes will commence Jan. 7, 2025, and they are clearly aimed at transporting travelers from cold-weather cities to warmer pastures during the peak of winter. The new flights are already available to book.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately after its peak, this tried-and-true strategy of taking winter-weary, leisure-focused travelers to California and Florida proved very popular among U.S. airlines.
That said, in recent months, there's been some softness in revenue and bookings to many of these popular leisure destinations due to overcapacity. As such, it'll be interesting to see how Southwest fares in these markets during the upcoming winter season.
It's not all good news for Southwest's network or the airline's flyers, though. Over the weekend, the airline filed plans to suspend 11 routes during the winter months, as first seen by TPG in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.
Below is the full list of affected routes. Many of them have historically been operated once weekly.
Southwest told TPG that these are "seasonal suspensions," meaning that the airline plans to fly them again in the future. However, the airline hasn't published any resumption dates, so we'll have to monitor if the carrier follows through on its word.
"We're always monitoring travel trends and adjusting schedules to support our Customers, Employees, and operations," Southwest said in a statement about the suspensions.
Over the past few months, Southwest has made a slew of changes to its network focused on boosting profitability. It dropped four cities altogether: Bellingham, Washington; Cozumel, Mexico; Syracuse, New York; and Houston — specifically, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). It also exited six other routes.
Earlier this year, Southwest even cut a popular Hawaii route: Los Angeles to Maui.
The upside is that these cuts have allowed Southwest to find pockets of demand in other markets. The airline added 11 new routes in April and May, and it even unveiled a lengthy roster of one-off flights for the upcoming NFL season.
All of these network adjustments come as the airline is making monumental changes to the passenger experience. This month, Southwest announced that it would abandon its open seating policy in favor of
There's a budget airline turf war heating up in Connecticut between the two newest U.S. airlines.
Southwest Airlines has slashed many of its fares through early 2025, and travelers can book one-way tickets starting at $46.
Avelo Airlines is ramping up its operations in the Delaware and Philadelphia region with new and returning routes, further enhancing its presence just over a year after reintroducing commercial flights at Wilmington Airport (ILG).
Update: August 6, 2024, at 8:05 a.m. ET
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Discount airlines are rolling out the deals to welcome passengers back on planes.Spirit Airlines recently released a variety of one way flight deals for under $40, including to popular locations such as Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Orlando, and more. The discounted rates are available on Spirit's Popular Flight Deals page, where passengers can enter in their home airport and maximum budget to see which flights are available from their city. For example, if a passenger searched with Atlanta as their home airport, they would see options for one way flights to Fort Lauderdale for $39, or flights to Houston for $29. The tool can be helpful when travelers know they want to get away, but aren’t exactly sure where. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of deals including:
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