Southwest will start offering nonstop flights to Sacramento this fall at MCI
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Southwest Airlines at the Kansas City International Airport (MCI) added a new nonstop flight to a highly desirable location this year.
On Wednesday morning, MCI posted on X that the airline will offer nonstop flights to Sacramento, California starting October 6.
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Our partners at Southwest Airlines announced new nonstop service from Kansas City to Sacramento, California, starting October 6. Experience the history of the capital city, and enjoy easy access to Napa and Sonoma. Tickets on sale now at https://t.co/faDAwHp726 @SouthwestAir pic.twitter.com/9YUqYNdO0x
— Kansas City International Airport (@Fly_KansasCity) May 15, 2024
Currently, around 78 flights with Southwest Airlines go to Sacramento every week. These travel days range from almost five to 10 hours with layovers or gate changes in cities like Maryland, Denver, Austin, Dallas, Phoenix and more.
Other airlines have even longer travel days, with some showing over almost a half-day of connecting flights. However, Southwest will be the first airline at Kansas City’s new airport offering a nonstop, quick day of travel.
According to the downtown Sacramento website, the city gets approximately 4.3 million visitors to its Old Sacramento Waterfront, and over 15 million visitors to the region annually.
In the last year alone, tourists spent $4.3 billion in Sacramento County, resulting in $323 million in state and local tax revenue, and a total of 34,810 new jobs.
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A study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that passengers, on average, are more willing to pay for nonstop flights rather than connecting due to the number of stops, in-flight time and transfer time. As well as this, airlines tend to incur higher costs for connecting flights.
So, it is safe to say this not only benefits passengers, but Southwest Airlines, MCI and the tourism industry in Sacramento.
Even though the nonstop flights are opening a few months outside of the travel season, this new addition to the Southwest flight schedule will surely make a difference to Kansas City and out-of-state travelers in the future.
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