Southwest Will Cut Nearly 20 Direct Routes by January
On Thursday, Southwest Airlines announced it will do away with nearly 20 non-stop routes around the nation by January. The move, the airline said, is simply in response to route supply and demand.
“We are always evaluating our service patterns and performance to ensure that we are offering the right number of seats for the community based on demand from travelers,” Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said in a statement, according to TravelPulse.
According to SFGate, the airline is doing away with routes that may be underperforming to make more planes and seats available for what it predicts to be more popular routes to and from Hawaii. Those routes, SFGate reported, will include non-stop service from Oakland to both Kauai and the Big Island.
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The routes affected will cease service as of Jan. 6, 2020. Boston, Orlando, and Los Angeles will take the biggest hits.
The canceled routes include direct flights between Austin and San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta, Boston and Kansas City, Boston and Milwaukee, Columbus and Oakland, Dallas Love Field and Jacksonville, Dallas Love Field and Oklahoma City, Dallas Love Field and San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Los Angeles and Cancun, Los Angeles and Omaha, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta, New York LaGuardia and Orlando, Orlando and Oakland, Orlando and Sacramento, Orlando and San Jose.
Southwest attempted to spin the news as still OK for frequent travelers departing from Dallas. A spokesperson told Dallas News, "Travelers will still be able to travel between OKC and DAL on one-stop itineraries.”
For the record, a non-stop flight between these two destinations takes about an hour, while a connecting flight ups that time to nearly four hours.
But, as Dallas News noted, it’s not all bad news. After all, other airlines like Alaska, American, and United, still offer non-stop flights between many of these destinations.
