Southwest Airlines reveals five new routes as it extends schedule into fall

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

Southwest Airlines announced five new non-stop routes Thursday as the carrier extended its booking schedule through Oct. 1.

Several of the new routes will put Southwest into highly competitive markets. Its new Atlanta-Nashville service, for example, will go up against Delta’s 11 daily round-trip flights on the route. Southwest’s Denver-Cincinnati route also will face competition, with four other carriers offering either seasonal or year-round service between the cities.

Southwest did not discontinue any year-round non-stop routes in its latest schedule update, though service was significantly reduced on several city-pairs.

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That includes five domestic routes that will go from daily service to Saturday-only service. Those routes are Chicago Midway-Boise; Columbus, Ohio-Fort Lauderdale; St. Louis-Panama City, Fla.; Houston Hobby-San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Pittsburgh-Fort Myers, Fla. Another domestic route -- Denver-Charleston, S.C. -- will go from daily non-stop service to non-stop service only on Saturdays and Sundays.

One domestic seasonal route -- Chicago Midway-Panama City, Fla. -- will not be returning in this year's fall schedule. That route had previously operated only on Saturdays.

Scroll down for schedule details on all five of Southwest’s new routes:

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Atlanta-Nashville

Five daily weekday round-trip flights begin Aug. 7. Southwest will offer three daily flights on Saturday and Sunday. Delta also flies non-stop on this route, offering 11 round-trip weekday flights according to its summer schedule.

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As a promotion, Southwest was offering $19 one-way fares on the route, though those fares are offered only for flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

“Southwest Airlines’ decision to add nonstop service to Atlanta out of Nashville International Airport will be welcomed by travelers to and from Nashville, particularly within the business community, which has long-sought more such service,” Doug Kreulen, CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, said in Southwest’s statement. “This new route brings competition to that market and provides additional options for our passengers.”

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Los Angeles-Tampa

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Delta and Spirit also offer non-stop service on this route.

Southwest also is beefing up its schedules on four other routes from LAX. Beginning Aug. 7, the carrier’s existing schedule from L.A. to both New Orleans and Portland, Ore., will go to three daily flights, up from the current two. Southwest also is adding additional flights to its LAX-Baltimore schedule, which will feature four daily round-trip flights by August. Additionally, Southwest’s seasonal service between L.A. and Omaha will become a year-round offering.

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Cincinnati-Denver

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Allegiant, Delta, Frontier and United offer non-stop service on this route.

“Southwest’s flight schedule to Denver will provide one-stop service to more than 15 West Coast destinations such as Reno, San Francisco, Phoenix, Portland, Los Angeles, Ontario, Tucson and Salt Lake City,” the Cincinnati airport said in its own release touting the new service.

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Kansas City-Raleigh/Durham

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Frontier also offers non-stop service on this route.

Hartford, Conn.-St. Louis

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Southwest will be the only carrier flying non-stop on this route.

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