Southwest announces 13 more red-eye flights as it extends its schedule
Southwest Airlines has unveiled more than a dozen new red-eye flights for next summer, further bolstering its first-ever schedule of overnight flying that’s set to kick off in the coming months.
It came as the Dallas-based carrier on Wednesday extended its booking schedule through Aug. 4, 2025. The airline’s summer plans feature 13 new red-eye routes. That’s on top of the 20 TPG reported earlier this fall, which will be the carrier’s inaugural venture into the overnight hours.
Four of the routes Southwest unveiled Wednesday are entirely new to the carrier, including a handful of transcontinental flights to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), located some 30 miles north of Washington, D.C.
In fact, BWI was the big winner overall: It landed six new red-eye flights in Wednesday’s announcement, solidifying its place — at least for now — as Southwest’s primary East Coast landing arrival hub for red-eye flights.
On the West Coast, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will get four new red-eye departures.
This latest tranche of red-eye flights comes just over three months after Southwest executives finally detailed plans to follow in the footsteps of its largest competitors by launching overnight flying in early 2025, hoping to boost revenue by getting more use out of its airplanes that previously sat idle during that time.
Southwest’s 13 new red-eye flights
Southwest’s summer batch of red-eyes will all launch June 5.
As mentioned, among those are four are new routes that the carrier does not currently offer:
- Long Beach Airport (LGB) to BWI
- Ontario International Airport (ONT) to BWI
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to BWI
- SFO to Nashville International Airport (BNA)
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The remaining nine new red-eyes launching in June are a combination of resumed seasonal service, the return of a long-absent route or an additional daily flight between the two cities:
- Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Lihue Airport (LIH) in Hawaii to Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
- Portland International Airport (PDX) to BWI — last served in 2019, per aviation analytics firm Cirium
- San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) to BWI — last served in 2020
- Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- SEA to BWI
- SEA to Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW)
- SEA to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
- SEA to BNA
Airports landing the new service were quick to celebrate Wednesday.
“We could not be happier with the new Southwest service to the greater Washington, D.C., area via BWI, which will be our 26th nonstop destination,” said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board of Airport Commissioners.
In all, Southwest will fly 33 red-eye flights next summer, all departing from West Coast and Hawaii cities.
Combined with operational improvements to cut down the time it takes for the carrier to turn around a plane for departure after it arrives at the gate, the airline hopes 2025 will boost its financial performance, which has lagged in recent quarters, drawing the ire of Wall Street and fueling a recently resolved showdown with a group of activist investors.
“In addition to reducing turn times, the introduction of red-eye flights is another key component of increasing asset productivity and improving the connectivity and efficiency of the network,” Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said, reiterating the company’s plans on the carrier’s Oct. 24 third-quarter earnings call.
Related: Here’s how Southwest Airlines’ new seating and boarding process will work
New route to Mexico
On top of new red-eye flights, Southwest also unveiled a new nonstop route to Mexico that will depart next summer.
Starting June 7, the carrier will launch seasonal service to Cancun from Colorado Springs Airport (COS). The route will operate on a limited basis, flying once each week on Saturdays.
However, the service will give Colorado Springs new international service.
The route will also bolster Southwest’s footprint in the popular Mexican beach destination. In 2024, the airline’s total seats flown to Cancun are set to be up 14% over 2023 levels, according to Cirium.
That’s despite the airline pulling back, overall, on its flying — and despite other carriers’ collective seats to the airport dropping by nearly 5% this year.
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