Southwest Airways will reduce 30 routes subsequent spring

Southwest Airways will reduce as many as 30 routes from its map subsequent March, the newest in a bigger transformation on the firm aimed toward boosting earnings.

The cuts hit Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN) — the Dallas-based service’s largest airport by each flights and seats — and St. Louis Lambert Worldwide Airport (STL) the toughest, with every dropping seven routes, the newest schedule knowledge from aviation analytics agency Cirium exhibits.

The cuts are available Southwest’s March 2026 schedule replace that additionally consists of greater than a dozen new routes, plus one new vacation spot: McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) close to Knoxville, Tennessee. The additions — and the bigger schedule replace — embody extra connection-oriented flights that start to pivot Southwest towards one thing completely new: a hub-and-spoke route map much like the one utilized by legacy airways.

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“We’ll nonetheless have the most important point-to-point community within the business however, with extra connection choices layered in, driving improved community utility and extra choices for our clients,” Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief working officer, mentioned in late July. “The connection alternatives will range by season, day of week and time of day with much less construction connectivity in peak occasions.”

Southwest is within the midst of a bigger transformation to spice up earnings. It started charging bag charges in Might and can start assigning seats and promoting new extra-legroom seats early subsequent yr.

What routes did Southwest reduce?

Southwest will finish 30 routes based mostly on TPG’s evaluation of the airline’s schedule replace that runs from March 5, 2026, by April 6, 2026. The airline doesn’t publish flights past that date.

A Southwest spokesperson mentioned lots of the reductions are seasonal, with solely 11 thought-about “everlasting” route exits. Nonetheless, all of the routes TPG lists as reduce had been flown for the complete yr previous to March 2026.

The best-profile cuts happen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL), which loses nonstops to each New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Raleigh-Durham Worldwide Airport (RDU) in North Carolina. Southwest faces fierce competitors on each routes from Atlanta’s hometown service, Delta Air Strains, however each are additionally giant enterprise markets in their very own proper.

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DEN loses seven “seasonal” nonstops that beforehand had been year-round: Albany Worldwide Airport (ALB) and Buffalo Niagara Worldwide Airport (BUF) in New York, Bradley Worldwide Airport (BDL) close to Hartford, Charleston Worldwide Airport (CHS) in South Carolina, Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT), Norfolk Worldwide Airport (ORF) in Virginia and Rhode Island T.F. Inexperienced Worldwide Airport (PVD) in Windfall, Cirium schedules present.

And the seven routes dropped from STL are: Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) in California; CLT; Des Moines Worldwide Airport (DSM) in Iowa; Clinton Nationwide Airport (LIT) in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oklahoma’s Tulsa Worldwide Airport (TUL) and Will Rogers Worldwide Airport (OKC) in Oklahoma Metropolis; and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Nationwide Airport (ICT) in Kansas.

Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and California’s Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK) additionally noticed cuts.

Southwest’s new connecting flights

Southwest is making extra modifications to its schedule past including routes that concentrate on connecting vacationers. It is also including routes aimed toward facilitating connections — one other main change in Southwest’s technique. These routes, which have few vacationers flying solely between them every day, are typically brief — usually just some hundred miles — and feed immediately into the airline’s giant bases.

The March 2026 schedule replace features a few of those, akin to Southwest’s new routes between Chicago’s Halfway Worldwide Airport (MDW) and Milwaukee Mitchell Worldwide Airport (MKE), at simply 80 miles, and between Nashville Worldwide Airport (BNA) and TYS, at 152 miles.

In March, the airline may also add new nonstops that concentrate on connections between MDW and DSM, ICT and TUL, and Dallas Love Subject (DAL) and OKC.

Brett Snyder, creator of the weblog Cranky Flier, wrote on Monday that 4 Southwest bases — BNA, DEN, MDW and STL — see flights rescheduled into 4 connecting “banks,” or when arrivals and departures are coordinated to facilitate connections.

“With higher connectivity that makes use of the 4 hubs to create alternative all through the day and the introduction of redeyes, Southwest has become the factor it at all times pretended it did not wish to be … an airline well-equipped for connections,” he wrote.

Beneath is a listing of all of the routes Southwest will finish, both completely or seasonally, in March 2025.

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