Southwest unveils blockbuster 15-route expansion for March, covering 20 cities

Southwest Airlines is doubling down on some of its top strongholds and planning a blockbuster slate of new routes for early next year.

The Dallas-based carrier on Thursday announced it's adding more than a dozen new routes with a big focus on several airports where it has made a big push in recent years, including Austin, Orlando, Nashville and San Diego.

Nashville International Airport (BNA) and Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (BNA) were the biggest winners, with four new routes apiece.

There's a pair of new routes to Hawaii, two more to the Caribbean and a couple that will boost the carrier's service to the Heartland. There are cross-country routes from Las Vegas to Miami and Boston as well as a super short hop from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

In all, it's a 15-route announcement covering 20 cities.

Each of the new flights will launch in March, which, Southwest was quick to point out, makes the routes ideal for planning spring break 2027 getaways.

Southwest Airlines: 15 new and returning routes

Here's the full rundown of the new (and a couple returning) Southwest routes.

These new routes, along with additional service on existing routes, will help propel Southwest to its biggest-ever schedules in Orlando and Austin.

At AUS, that schedule will help Southwest maintain its market lead over Delta Air Lines even as it faces increased competition in the Texas capital from its Atlanta-based rival.

Plus, Southwest will double down on new destinations launched over the past year, including St. Thomas and Knoxville.

Returning routes

A few of the routes will be familiar to frequent Southwest flyers.

The carrier previously operated LaGuardia-Orlando service, with the most recent flights in 2023. It last flew from San Diego to Kona and Lihue in 2022.

A 'reverse red-eye'

Southwest also announced a unique itinerary on an existing route.

In March — two years after launching red-eye service — the airline will begin operating a so-called "reverse red-eye" from Las Vegas to Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL).

The rare westbound overnight domestic service will involve a takeoff at 2:45 a.m., with arrival set for 6:10 a.m. (all times local).

Airlines typically fly eastbound on domestic red-eyes (including flights between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland) because the time difference allows the plane to take off late at night and land first thing the next morning.

The same goes for service from the U.S. to Europe and Africa.

So, this westbound red-eye will be a bit of an aviation anomaly.

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