This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2024—find more travel inspiration here.
26.10.2023 - 18:01 / travelandleisure.com
Southwest Airlines expanded its schedule for next summer with new routes to the Caribbean, Orlando, Mexico, and more.
Starting June 4, 2024, the airline will launch nonstop routes between Orlando and Cancun, Grand Cayman, Nassau, Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Punta Cana, and San José, Costa Rica, the airline announced on Thursday. These flights will be in addition to the international routes Southwest currently serves from Orlando to and from Aruba and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
On the same day, Southwest will expand its service on the West Coast, adding daily nonstop service between Burbank, CA, and Boise, Kansas City, New Orleans, San Antonio, and St. Louis. The airline will also add a new daily nonstop route between Colorado Springs and Baltimore.
In addition, Southwest will add seasonal, Saturday-only service next summer between Dallas and Buffalo, NY, Fresno, CA, Providence, R.I., and Spokane, WA.
The new flights will bring Southwest’s schedule to an “all-time high” of more than 4,500 departures, according to the airline.
Southwest’s expansion comes as the airline made it easier for customers to earn status in 2024, lowering the number of qualifying flights needed to reach both A-List and A-List Preferred status as well as making it easier to earn points with qualifying credit cards. Additionally, the airline is making it easier to earn a popular Companion Pass for a limited time by giving registered travelers who fly by Nov. 30 double Companion Pass qualifying points on those flights.
Southwest, which is in the process of upgrading its onboard experience, famously doesn’t charge change fees and allows travelers to check two bags for free (which has led to some interesting checked items). And earlier this year, the airline moved to allow all passengers to fly same-day standby for free, bringing it in line with other major airlines in the United States.
This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2024—find more travel inspiration here.
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Die-hard fans of Southwest Airlines (you know who you are) recently got a welcome boost in service. The low-cost airline last week unveiled an expanded flight schedule that includes two dozen entirely new routes—six of them to international destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America—and six pre-existing routes that the airline is bringing back next year.
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