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direct flights - San Diego to Seattle

Eaglelion
Explorer C

It seemed like pre-Covid, Southwest had at least daily one direct flight from San Diego to Seattle and vice versa.  I go to San Diego 6+ times/year for work/family and I always have to have a pit stop in San Jose/Oakland typically.  I would believe there is enough business for a direct flight but does anyone have any idea if Southwest will ever resume direct flights to/fro San/Sea?  Tempted to move to Alaska Airlines for this route alone (once companion pass runs out).

3 REPLIES 3

Re: direct flights - San Diego to Seattle

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Perhaps you mean non-stop?  Routes change based on demand and other business factors.  There are only so many planes and lots of possible routes.  You're welcome to send your suggestion directly to Southwest, use the contact us link at the bottom of the page and send a message,

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: direct flights - San Diego to Seattle

5280Av8r
Frequent Flyer C

One important lingo think that I learned recently too. Nonstop vs Direct flights:

 

"Non-stop flights behave exactly as they sound; you'll fly straight from one airport to another, with no stops along the way. Direct flights, on the other hand, aren't quite as convenient. While the flight number doesn't change, the term “direct” means the plane may make one or more stops along its route."

 

There are very likely flights that are direct in the sense that it's the same plane and flight number going from Seattle to San Diego with a stop in Oakland or San Jose. You're obviously looking for the nonstop option. There were a number of routes that were removed during the pandemic or just before to accommodate their Hawaii expansion due to the MAX groundings. 

 

I'm sure it's on their lists since they've said their focus right now is to restore their pre-pandemic network on top of their recent expansion in the last two years. I know in September, they're planning to resume service between Portland and both San Diego and Los Angeles. That said, you should still follow the instructions of TheMiddleSeat.

 

-Andrew E

DEN based | Aviation Enthusiast


DEN (CLT) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest

Re: direct flights - San Diego to Seattle

dfwskier
Aviator A

@Eaglelion wrote:

It seemed like pre-Covid, Southwest had at least daily one direct flight from San Diego to Seattle and vice versa.  I go to San Diego 6+ times/year for work/family and I always have to have a pit stop in San Jose/Oakland typically.  I would believe there is enough business for a direct flight but does anyone have any idea if Southwest will ever resume direct flights to/fro San/Sea?  Tempted to move to Alaska Airlines for this route alone (once companion pass runs out).


The problem is that Southwest is severely short of planes. Since the 737 fiasco started Southwest continued retiring planes that were at the end of their useful lives, and for most of that time Boeing delivered ZERO new planes and only now is delivering at about half the rate it was before the fiasco started. Further, SW added about 20 new cities to it's map.

 

Your route may come back as SW adds new planes to it's fleet. You can tell the airline you want the route back by clicking on ""contact us" below and proceeding.

 

In the mean time, don't turn yourself into a pretzel with your loyalty to Southwest. If another airline better serves your travel needs, then fly the other airline.