Southwest Airlines is solidifying its position as San Diego’s dominant air carrier with the announcement Monday that it is adding year-round nonstop flights to Puerto Vallarta, Newark and El Paso.

Just a few months after debuting its nonstop service to Cabo San Lucas, Southwest said Monday it will now add a twice weekly flight to Puerto Vallarta on Saturdays and Sundays, starting March 10 of next year. The decision was driven by strong interest expressed by its customers, said Southwest officials.

“The international service we are providing has really resonated with our customers, and Cabo was the most popular destination our customers requested, and Puerto Vallarta was next,” said Leah Koontz, Vice President Controller for the airline. “San Diego is our fourth international gateway out of California.”

The only other air carrier flying nonstop between San Diego and Puerto Vallarta is Alaska Airlines.


Domestically, Southwest is also adding a Sunday-only flight to El Paso, which is not served by any other airline out of San Diego International Airport, and it will start offering a daily nonstop to Newark. After trying out a daily nonstop in June and July, Southwest saw there was enough demand to convert it to year-round service.

The El Paso flight will debut March 11, and Newark will go into effect April 8.

“When we flew seasonal service to Newark in the summer we liked the response we got from customers,” said Southwest Airlines Managing Director of Network Planning Adam Decaire. “People were ecstatic we got a nonstop on that flight for the summer, so we’re bringing it back next year. It’s the 15th largest market for all customers leaving San Diego on any airline.”

Alaska and United Airlines currently offer nonstop service to Newark.


In addition to the three new nonstops, Southwest is also expanding its existing Austin, Texas, nonstop flight from two days a week to three and its Dallas service from three days to four.

Southwest had planned to announce sale fares to accompany the new routes, but those are temporarily postponed because of the current turmoil surrounding Tropical Storm Harvey in Texas.

The San Diego flights were among nearly 20 new nonstop routes and increased frequency to 27 existing routes that Southwest announced Monday. It also is planning to add more service to Cancun and Cabo San Lucas from the U.S.

While acknowledging the heightened competition for air travel, Southwest executives believe California is just as competitive as it always has been, even as Alaska Airlines has moved aggressively to gain a stronger toehold in San Diego.


“I’ve been here 24 years and there’s always been a whole lot of competition in the state of California, so this really is no different,” said Koontz. “Southwest Airlines never backs down from a challenge and we intend to maintain our competitive lead in California.”

For flights within California, Southwest accounts for nearly 64 percent of the passenger volume, said Decaire. For all domestic flights, Southwest’s market share at Lindbergh is 37.5 percent, he added.


Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

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