Southwest Airlines announced that their schedule is now open through January 6, 2019. If you were waiting to book your holiday and New Years’ travel plans, now is the time to secure your reservations and availability. Additionally, Southwest has expanded flight options from multiple airports with up to 33 new daily flight options.
In This Post
Southwest Extends Schedule
Southwest Airlines extends schedule in bunches every few months instead of a rolling 330 days like many of the big airlines. With this announcement, you can book reservations on Southwest Airlines through January 6, 2019.
This means that you can now book travel for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years on Southwest Airlines.
New Flights from Southwest
Like most airlines, Southwest is constantly re-evaluating their flight patterns to figure out where the demand is. With that, Southwest has added the following flight options:
New Southwest flights from La Guardia
Beginning November 4, 2018, Southwest will add the following non-stop flights:
- New York (LaGuardia) and New Orleans
- New York (LaGuardia) and West Palm Beach, Fla.*
- New York (LaGuardia) and Orlando
And they’ll also add an additional weekday non-stop between:
- New York (LaGuardia) and Dallas (An increase to five weekday nonstop flights)
- New York (LaGuardia) and Denver (An increase to three weekday nonstop flights)
- New York (LaGuardia) and Kansas City, Mo. (An increase to two weekday nonstop flights)
Southwest adds more service from Washington DC
Washington DC is also going to receive some additional “LUV” from Southwest with additional flights.
- Daily non-stop service between Washington, D.C.(Reagan National) and Oklahoma City
And add an additional non-stop flight between:
- Washington, D.C.(Reagan National) and Nashville (An increase to four weekday roundtrip flights)
- Washington, D.C.(Reagan National) and Dallas (An increase to five weekday roundtrip flights)
More Southwest flights from California
California has been a huge focus for Southwest as they prepare to launch flights to Hawaii. By the end of November 2018, Southwest will offer up to 99 departures a day to 24 destinations!
San Jose is definitely feeling the LUV as they get new flight options beginning November 4, 2018:
- Non-stop service Sundays through Fridays between San Jose and Tucson, AZ
- Now offer 8 weekday roundtrips between San Jose and Portland, OR (an increase of two flights each weekday)
- 12 nonstop flights weekdays between San Jose and Orange County (SNA) (an increase of two flights each weekday)
Burbank (formerly Bob Hope Airport) will get new non-stop options as well starting November 4, 2018:
- Burbank and Houston (Hobby) (Sunday through Friday)
- Burbank and Chicago (Midway) (Sunday through Friday)
Long Beach, which previously had limited options will now offer additional flights between September 5 and October 31, 2018:
- Add 2 additional nonstop flights on weekdays between Long Beach and Sacramento
- Add 3 weekday flights between Long Beach and Las Vegas
Southwest International Service Expands
Although Southwest Airlines is known for their domestic service, they’ve really become a major player on some international routes to the Caribbean and Central America.
Cuba service expands effective August 7, 2018, with a 3rd daily non-stop between Ft Lauderdale, FL and Havana, Cuba.
Although Chicago O’Hare is a major hub for American Airlines, Southwest Airlines is turning Chicago Midway into a viable option for international flights with service to the following:
- Weekends between Chicago(Midway) and Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico
- Existing international service between Chicago (Midway) and Cancun, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
And daily service will resume for the winter between the following airports starting on November 4, 2018:
- Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Belize
- Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Grand Cayman
- Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Turks and Caicos
- Denver and Puerto Vallarta
- Houston (Hobby) and Liberia, Costa Rica
- St. Louis and Cancun
The Bald Thoughts
Whenever Southwest expands schedule out a few months, it is the perfect time to book your trips to save some money using Southwest Rapid Rewards points. And with so many new flight options available starting November 4, 2018, you can plan some great vacations to escape with winter chill and thaw out on the beaches of the Caribbean and Mexico.
