Southwest Airlines Community

Happy Monday!  Got a Spring Break trip you (or your friends or family) have been wanting to plan?  We’ve now got you covered—Southwest’s schedule is now available for reservations out through April 6, 2015. The schedule is, as usual, fully reoptimized based on expected weather-related, block time variations and includes lots of capacity changes to handle the SBS (“Spring Break Surge”), but it also adheres to the ontime performance-related changes we’ve been implementing over the past several months.  Here are the details: This schedule contains almost ten percent more weekday departures compared to January 2015—so March vacationers, we have got you COVERED.  Over 3,700 weekday departures are planned for the March base schedule—once again, more than any other single airline, not just in America, but in the world.  And the vast majority of the market frequency changes are plus side, which you would expect transitioning from January/February to March.  In fact, out of over 1,200 nonstop markets served, we’re increasing service in 320 of them.  No permanent new nonstop markets are included in this schedule extension, although a couple of interesting new seasonal markets are included—Dallas/Love to Panama City on Saturdays, as well as first-ever New Orleans-San Antonio service.  You’ll notice that many of the new nonstop market additions only operate on Saturdays.  We all know traffic patterns are different on the weekends than they are during the week, and we’re taking greater advantage of our ability to react to it! Four nonstop markets will be permanently eliminated.  Nonstop service between Albuquerque and Seattle/Tacoma will end, after nearly 16 years of operation.  Of course, we will continue to offer many options to Seattle/Tacoma via Denver, Las Vegas, and other connection points.  We will also eliminate nonstop service between Atlanta and three airports:  San Juan, Aruba, and Montego Bay.  Those three Caribbean markets will keep other nonstop service to the U.S. Mainland, so connectivity to the rest of the Southwest network should be the same, as we focus on fine-tuning an Atlanta schedule that serves both our local and connecting Customers. Where are you jetting off this Spring Break?  Let us know by commenting below. ... View more

This morning, we opened the Southwest Airlines schedule out for sale through Friday, March 6, 2015.  There are some interesting changes to tell you about, of course—but this schedule represents a huge event in the evolution, so let’s start with a paragraph of celebration! Since shortly after the legal close of Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran, Network Planning has not only been writing and maintaining the schedules of two airlines, but we've also made sure that the schedule of each network operationally viable as a stand-alone entity, and ensured that the Southwest and AirTran schedules complimented each other when looking at market selection and departure timing.  Consider the sheer complexity of that task for a moment!  The only analogy I can think of to describe it is that it’s been like cracking over 640 eggs—some canyon blue and red, some teal and white—into some huge bowl, scrambling them all together and cooking them perfectly, then successfully separating the scrambled teal eggs from the scrambled canyon blue ones before we serve them.  And we've done that for every published schedule for the past four years! But with the sunset of AirTran service on December 28, 2014, the January 2015 schedule is the first fully optimized schedule that, by design, combines the power of both the Southwest and AirTran networks as a single, unified entity that spans 93 cities from coast to coast, border to border, and includes service to Mexico and four Caribbean nations.  Every single Southwest and AirTran Employee had a hand in getting to this point, so take a second to recognize how much we’ve accomplished together in such a small time—and here’s to even greater things in our future! Now for some schedule details.  The January and February always combine a seasonal shift in traffic with the harshest of winter operations, so you’ll notice that in the normal seasonal changes in block times and turn times.  You’ll also notice the annual, seasonal additions such as the return of nonstop service between Baltimore/Washington and Oakland, between Ft. Lauderdale and Phoenix, and between Nashville and Ft. Myers.  We’ll also seasonally eliminate service in five markets, such as between Albany and Las Vegas and between Phoenix and Raleigh/Durham.  Details on all of these market additions and eliminations are listed below. In the continuing evolution of “All You Need Is LUV” we’ll keep building our North Texas powerhouse in January by adding new nonstop service between Dallas Love Field and Northern California!  We’ll add a daily roundtrip between Love and both San Francisco and Oakland.  Southwest will also add two additional daily roundtrips between Love Field and New York/LaGuardia, for a total of five daily nonstops.  In fact, the January Schedule has 153 daily Southwest departures from the New Love Field—the largest number in memory. Specifics for our additions and eliminations are listed here, and of course if you have questions just ask.   Have a GREAT week, everyone—remember to celebrate both the past AND the future—and make this the best week of your summer!   ... View more

Today, we opened our schedule for booking from November 2 through January 4.  In a word: WOW!  In my 36 years in this business, I’ve never seen a schedule release that was packed with more incredible, long-time-coming corporate milestones.  Any single one of them would be a game-changer for any other airline, but we’re not just any airline.  We’re SOUTHWEST—and we’ve got four huge Southwest milestones in this schedule release—and each one of them has taken thousands of hours of passion, sweat, and elbow-grease to become a reality.  Now, all four will come to beautiful fruition on one glorious day.  So let the celebration start, and let’s get into the details! Beginnings, Chapter One:  LUV IS SET FREE!  BIG news and BIG changes coming up for BIG D!  What we’ve all been waiting for is now available for booking.  The entire Company has been preparing for this huge milestone for over five years, and now it’s “SHOWTIME!”   Our new Dallas/Love Field nonstop service, enabled by the end of the Wright Amendment, will come in two phases.  The first wave begins on October 13, in which we will add new, NONSTOP flights between our home at DAL and the following: Baltimore/Washington (three weekday roundtrips) Chicago/Midway five weekday roundtrips) Denver (three weekday roundtrips) Las Vegas (three weekday roundtrips) Los Angeles (three weekday roundtrips) Orlando two weekday roundtrips) Washington/Reagan National (three weekday roundtrips) Wave two of SET LUV FREE begins on November 2, with eight more nonstop destinations and added flights in the first seven: Atlanta (four weekday roundtrips) Chicago/Midway (one more weekday roundtrip for a total of six) Ft. Lauderdale (two weekday roundtrips) Las Vegas (one more weekday roundtrip for a total of four) Los Angeles (one more weekday roundtrip for a total of four) Nashville (two weekday roundtrips) New York/LaGuardia (three weekday roundtrips) Orange County (one daily roundtrip) Orlando (one more weekday roundtrip for a total of three) Phoenix (four daily roundtrips) San Diego (two daily roundtrips) Tampa/St. Pete (two daily roundtrips) For those of you keeping track—the first scheduled “SET LUV FREE” new nonstop from Dallas Love Field is planned to be Flight #1013 to Denver, departing on October 13 at 6:40 a.m.  (Get it?  Flight #1013? J!)  Now THAT, my friends, sounds like a flight of celebration! Beginnings, Chapter Two:  LUV is a Capitol idea! Effective November 2, Southwest will fill out our roster of new flights to and from Reagan/National Airport (in the heart of Washington, D.C.) made possible  by our recent acquisition of additional operating slots.  With the following additions, we’ll have 44 weekday departures from National Airport to 14 cities with same-plane or connecting itineraries to 63 others.  Included in the new DCA service is new nonstop service to Akron/Canton (one daily roundtrip) and Indianapolis (two daily roundtrips).  We’re also increasing the frequency in a number of markets, including adding a third Reagan/National to St. Louis roundtrip and two added roundtrips between Reagan/National and Houston/Hobby for a total of four each weekday. Beginnings, Chapter Three:  International Conversion Complete! Our five-month phased transition of AirTran international service to the Southwest operation will be complete on November 2!  On that date, we’ll add the two remaining international Stations—Mexico City and Punta Cana—and we’ll complete the conversion of Cancun and Montego Bay.  We’ll also “turn-on” all of our domestic points to potential international connecting itineraries, so our entire multi-national network will be “connected!”   WOW!  Chalk that up as another of those “didn’t think I’d ever see that” milestones—but it’s HAPPENING!  Click here for the final international nonstop market conversions, with their November – January frequencies.  (Please note that this, as well as the two subsequent charts, can be viewed together in the same linked PDF document.) Endings, Final Chapter:  AirTran Sunset The long and careful integration of AirTran into Southwest Airlines is almost complete!  There will be other blog posts about this, but from a schedule standpoint this is a milestone that has to be called out and celebrated—because we are honest-to-goodness about to achieve ONE LUV!  AirTran’s remaining domestic flights operating on November 2 and beyond will be available only on southwest.com, as well as other Southwest sales venues, so between November 2 and December 28, the remaining AirTran operated flights will be sold as Southwest Network Connect services.   AirTran’s scheduled operations will end on December 28, and the final AirTran-operated flight is scheduled to be AirTran Flight #1 (Marketed as Southwest Flight #5001) ATL-TPA, departing at 10:25 p.m. and arriving at 11:55 p.m.  That’s the same flight number and market that was the very first flight operated by AirTran’s predecessor, ValuJet, on October 26, 1993.  Details on the final city-by-city, market-by-market conversion can be found here. Sunrise/Sunset:  Market Changes for the November Schedule As with any new schedule—including one of this magnitude—Southwest will make a lot of adjustments to markets not involved in any of our other huge milestone events.  We will add our first-ever transcontinental service from Washington/Dulles Airport to beautiful San Diego, and will bring back nonstop service in the Washington/Dulles-Las Vegas market.   Seasonal nonstops will begin in 18 other markets, while six seasonal nonstop markets will end their 2014 operation.  Nonstop service in three markets will be permanently eliminated.  Click here for more details. Huge changes, huge milestones, and huge accomplishments, all on one date.  Wow.  WOW.  Southwest Airlines is delivering on our transformation, folks.  The landscape is changing, and that’s what Southwest does—we change the landscape!  Enjoy the network changes, everyone—and have a GREAT week! ... View more

There’s nothing like the smell of “new”—new houses, new cars, and of course, new airplanes! I was recently able to join two dozen of my Southwest Family Members in picking up one of our brand-new 737-800s from our friends and partners at Boeing.   It was one of the most exciting and FUN experiences of my 35 years in this industry! There’s more to picking up one of these amazing machines than you would imagine, and it winds up being much more like closing on a house than buying a new car.  Just as you don’t close on a house from your new home’s living room, you don’t close on a new airplane from inside the cabin.  Closing is done in a conference room at a Boeing office building at Boeing Field, with representatives from Southwest and Boeing in attendance and others such as lenders (akin to “mortgage companies” in my home buying analogy), FAA representatives, and other interested parties on conference call.   And after a signature or several, the call is over, and the airplane is Southwest’s. Birth of a Southwest Boeing 737 The whole process begins where all 737s are built—the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington.  Located a few miles east of Sea/Tac International Airport on the southern shore of Lake Washington, it is here that every Boeing 737 that has ever flown was “born.”   While Boeing’s Renton plant has been producing 737s since 1967, the plant has been thoroughly modernized and isn’t anything like the plant where the first Boeing 737-100 came off the line.  Today, Boeing’s Renton plant is a marvel of industrial engineering, carefully designed to facilitate communication and collaboration.  You could say it’s efficient to the MAX.  (Sorry, couldn’t resist!) Ever wonder how a Boeing 737 becomes a Southwest LUV Jet?  The airplane is built and tested to be air-worthy at Renton, but it’s still not painted, nor does it have our Evolve seats or WiFi installed.  For these final touches, the aircraft is ferried from the Renton plant up to Paine Field in Everett, Washington, about 40 miles north of Seattle, for final make-ready.  (Side note:  While some planes go to a facility near Spokane for paint, they still wind up in Everett for the remainder of the make-ready process.)   It is at this facility that of our long-time partner, ATS, outfits the basic 737 into a Southwest red-bellied LUV-jet inside and out. When our brand-new airplane is ready for delivery, the Flight Crew for the delivery flight and anyone else invited to be on the flight arrives and is cleared through the Southwest Airlines office at the hangar.  Flight plans are filed, bags are collected, and then it’s time to walk through the hangar to the new aircraft.  Through the doors, onto the ramp, and then you see her. Of course, we’ve all seen Southwest 737s a million times—it’s our livelihood.   But when you’re on a delivery flight, it’s different.  It’s brand new.  It’s shiny.  And most important, she’s “your” airplane.  I have to admit, as I finally walked out into the freezing cold wind and saw N8621A, it took my breath away.  After lots of pictures, I climbed the stairs and got inside into the toasty warmth of the cabin.  And I breathed deep, closed my eyes for a second, and enjoyed that “new airplane” smell.  It smelled of new leather, new carpet, new fixtures, pride of production, and most definitely pride of ownership.  In my mind I could envision all the men and women I saw working on the production floor at Renton building this ship with dedication and pride, and I could feel their handprints on the “soul” of this aircraft.  I really could! Then I opened my eyes and everyone got back to the business of the flight.  Walk around completed, doors shut, airstairs removed, briefings done, engines started … we’re good to go.  Takeoff was quick and normal—if you can call takeoff past a lineup of brand-new 747-8s, 787s, 777-300s in liveries from all over the planet normal!  (I couldn’t help but think “you may be global, planes, but only WE are SOUTHWEST!”)  But once airborne, it was time to get busy.  This was, after all, a celebration! In addition to Companywide Culture Committee (CCC) Team Captains and Members, we were hosting folks who won Boeing delivery trips at the 2013 Messages To The Field, so we made sure they all had a GREAT time.  Thanks to one of my fellow 2012 CCC Team Captains, I had a blast learning how the cabin lighting system works on the amazing “Sky Interior” of our -800s—I think I’m partial to the “sunrise/sunset” setting, but I’ll defer to our Flight Attendants on that one.  The feel of this delivery flight was festive, from the delicious cheese-and-caramel mixed popcorn from Clark’s in Chicago that fellow-Team-Captain Bob brought, to the “stupid-joke-a-thon” and Holiday song sing-along we did via the PA system.  This was celebrating at 41,000 feet, SWA Family style!  Funny jokes, wonderful conversations, and one world-class sunset—two and a half  hours passed like no time at all.  Like most -800 deliveries, ours went to PHX Maintenance, and after an all-too-quick flight, we touched down and taxied to the ramp in front of PHX MX. And then it was over.  We gathered our things, climbed down the stairs, and then went on our way.  N8621A was ready to be prepped to enter revenue service the next day, and we all started to make our way back home, whether it was getting on airplanes heading West or East—or just getting in a car and driving to our digs somewhere in the Valley of the Sun. Next time you get on a brand new airplane, take a second to enjoy the smell.  And by all means take a second to think about the wonderful people at the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company that built the airplane with tremendous pride and LUV, as if their own families were going to live on that ship.  And if you’re on N8621A—think about the LUV and “good karma” those of us on the delivery flight left on that aircraft. AND DON’T MAKE A MESS ON “MY” AIRPLANE!   ... View more

I have GREAT news to share about expansion of our service at Washington!  As a result of Southwest’s recent slot purchase, we’ll add new service to and from Reagan/National (DCA) airport in three separate waves later this year.   Effective August 10 (available on March 21) Chicago/Midway          6 new flights                (New market) Nashville                     3 new flights                (New market) New Orleans               2 new flights                (New market)   Effective September 30 (available on March 21) Chicago/Midway          3 added trips               (9 total) Tampa Bay                 2 new flights                (New market)   Effective November 2(available on May 19) Akron/Canton                TBD Dallas/Love Field           TBD Houston/Hobby             TBD Indianapolis                  TBD St. Louis                      TBD   Besides being incredibly convenient to everything the District of Columbia has to offer, it’s proven to be a wonderful complement to our existing service at Washington/Dulles, as well as to the tremendous operation (and emerging international beachhead!) we’ve established at Baltimore/Washington.  It also adds to the existing service pattern we offer from DCA with nonstops to Atlanta, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Ft. Myers. Specific details—such as details for the November additions and possible facility changes—will be coming later.  But this gives the Southwest Family even more reason to celebrate this spring!  Enjoy the week, everyone. ... View more

Happy Monday, Southwest Airlines Customers!  This morning we extended our schedule out through Halloween—October 31, 2014—and it contains some REALLY great stuff. International conversion from AirTran to Southwest is marching right along!  We’re adding our first two cities in Mexico, completely converting service at San Jose Del Cabo to canyon blue airplanes with nonstops to Orange County on August 10, followed by conversion of Cabo-Denver service on October 7.  Over on the Yucatan Peninsula, we’ll begin the conversion of Cancun by moving our nonstops between Cancun and Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, and Milwaukee on August 10, and will add Cancun-Denver service to that list effective October 7.  Note that, for now, we’ll leave existing nonstops between Cancun and Chicago/Midway as operated by AirTran.  That market’s conversion will happen later in the year.  Then at Nassau/Paradise Island, we will complete its conversion by shifting our Atlanta nonstops to Southwest. As before, we’re continuing a phased approach to “turning on” domestic points to connect to our new and growing international network.  With this schedule extension, we’re adding a lot more domestic cities, but in a very deliberate, multi-effective-dated approach.   A lot of people have asked “why not just flip the switch?”  Simple—caution!  Because international is a whole new arena for Southwest, with many new required processes and a new-to-Southwest computer system (the Altea suite by Amadeus), the Company is being deliberately cautious so as not to overwhelm the training and support groups.  This schedule in particular is probably the most complex in terms of the conversion schedules, with anywhere from two-to-eight added domestic origin/destination points coming online every couple of weeks or so.  Also, it’s important to note that just because a domestic origin/destination point is included on the list doesn’t necessarily mean it will have published international service.  Itineraries will generate based on our connection rules.  Please click here to find out about international service from your home airport. On our domestic network, we’ve also been busy.  In addition to continuing the integration of AirTran into the Southwest route network, as we move from the peak of the summer travel season into the quieter autumn months, we’ll say goodbye to a number of summer seasonal markets.  We’re also making some permanent schedule adjustments as well.  Effective August 10, we’ll convert all AirTran service at six domestic cities entirely to Southwest colors:  Austin, Columbus, Dayton, New York/LaGuardia, Oklahoma City, and Richmond.  Denver will follow on October 7 when we convert the Denver- San Jose Del Cabo service.  We’ll also convert five nonstop markets to be entirely served by Southwest.  Thirty-six seasonal nonstop markets will be discontinued, while two nonstop markets will be permanently discontinued:  Salt Lake City to both Portland, OR and Seattle/Tacoma.  In total, we’ll operate 3,514 AirTran and Southwest departures on a normal weekday. Despite all of the interesting schedule movements in this schedule, two very exciting elements aren’t included—those being our expansion at Dallas made possible by the end of the Wright Amendment on October 13, and the new service at Washington’s Reagan National Airport made possible by our recent slot award.  Both of those schedule packages will be announced at a later date, so don’t forget to check back here often! Additionally, now that we are offering great deals on new nonstop flights to Aruba, Cancun, Nassau, Montego Bay, and San Jose Cabo, you’ve got it made in the shade.  Check out our low fares on international flights here. Thanks for stopping by Nuts About Southwest and have a GREAT week! ... View more

Get out the suntan lotion and the beach balls.  The initial schedule for next Summer went out for sale today, making flights available all the way out to June 30, plus we’ve published schedule additions that will become effective even before we get to the Summer.  There are lots of details to share about new markets as well as eliminated ones, so read on! Effective April 8, we’ll re-enter the New Orleans-San Diego nonstop market with one daily roundtrip.  We had served previously from 2000 to 2005, but discontinued in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Service will be daily.  Then, on May 11, we will add six new flights to and from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, service made possible by the slots we recently obtained as a result of the AA/US merger.  We’ll add two more roundtrips between LaGuardia and Houston/Hobby, for a total of four; two more between LaGuardia and Chicago/Midway, for a total of eight; one more between LaGuardia and Nashville, for a total of three; and one more between LaGuardia and Akron/Canton, for a total of three. Moving on to the 2014 Summer Base schedule, we’ve completely re-optimized everything, so nearly every flight number, departure/arrival time, and block time will change.  You’ll find the popular quick-reference chart below, but let me call your attention to a few new markets of particular interest.  The first big thing you’ll notice is the addition of three new nonstop markets to and from beautiful San Diego:  one daily roundtrip to Orlando, two daily nonstops to Portland, Ore., and three daily nonstops to Seattle/Tacoma!  Along with other San Diego frequency changes (including the addition of a second daily San Diego-Nashville roundtrip) this will give us an even 100 daily departures each weekday from Lindbergh Field.  Elsewhere around the system, we’ll add nonstop seasonal service in 21 markets—16 returning favorites and five brand-new ones, including the first-ever nonstop service between Houston/Hobby and San Juan, which will have one nonstop roundtrip every Saturday.  Internationally, we’ll bring back Austin-Cabo service three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays). Two seasonal markets—Hartford/Springfield to Ft. Myers, and Orlando to Minneapolis-St. Paul—will be discontinued, although connecting itineraries will continue to be available.  Reflecting the continuing evolution of our system, 17 nonstop roundtrip markets will be permanently discontinued.  These include the nine nonstop markets that will be eliminated with the closures of Branson, Key West, and Jackson, but also includes the elimination of nonstop service between Harlingen and San Antonio, which we’ve flown continuously since 1975.  This elimination is difficult, but necessary given current market conditions. The work to combine the Southwest and AirTran network continues, and to that end we’ll begin sharing service in nine markets. While we’ll completely convert five markets entirely to Southwest service, all of which are to and from Baltimore/Washington. Again, a summary of all the new and eliminated nonstop service is here in the  Summer 2014 Market Changes Chart.  Of course, there are many other minor frequency adjustments in markets across the nation—over a hundred of them in fact!  All changes are now available on southwest.com.  And a final thing you may notice about this schedule extension is its duration.  For our initial Summer 2014 schedule extension, we’ve only put out new inventory through June 30, a span of only about three weeks.  We historically have put out the entire June-August timeframe all at once, and have for many years.  Now—why would we do that?  Hmmm …. well, let me leave you with some lyrics from the fantastic musical, West Side Story: Could it be? Yes, it could. Something's coming, something good, If I can wait……... Something's coming, I don't know what it is, But it is Gonna be great! Be safe, y’all … and Happy Holidays!   ... View more

This morning, we opened our February base schedule, which adds the date range of February 13 – March 7, 2014 to our bookable inventory.  This includes the “must-travel“ holidays of Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and Mardi Gras.  No nonstop markets will be discontinued in this schedule, nor are any brand-new nonstop markets being introduced.  We’ll bring back some seasonal nonstop service and will adjust frequencies in a number of markets, primarily increasing service to vacation destinations in Florida.  Overall, we will add 136 daily departures across our combined network, with an average weekday departure count of about 3,590.  Daily seasonal nonstop service will resume in four markets (including longtime favorite Albany-Las Vegas), as well as resuming Saturday-only nonstop service in five others.  Continuing the conversion of AirTran service to Southwest, we will transition one Atlanta/Washington-Reagan National flight over to Southwest operation.  In frequency additions in existing nonstop markets, Orlando will have 16 added weekday departures (get those theme-park passes now!), Tampa Bay will have ten, Ft. Myers eight , and Ft. Lauderdale, seven. Network Planning is working like crazy on the next schedule extension—the March base schedule, which includes SPRING BREAK!  Until then, dream of winter 2014 … maybe that’ll make the awful heat the country is dealing with a little more tolerable. Plans are to have that schedule out in the next few weeks.  You’ll find the latest updates here!  Book now here! ... View more

Today we’re extending our schedule through January and into February, 2014!  You can now book those deep-winter trips on Southwest and AirTran.  Slopes?  Surf?  Shows?  Slots?  We can get you to any, or all, of them!   Overall, Southwest and AirTran combined will offer about 3,470 daily weekday departures for the January/February schedule, down about five percent from the November/Holiday Season schedule, and very much in line with historical levels.  For January we’ve completely re-optimized the schedule to adjust flying times for winter winds, schedule structure for winter operations, ensure network connectivity, account for 737-800 deliveries, and a host of other things.  In other words—Network Planning has been hard at work!  In this schedule release there are no new nonstop markets or cities, but we will bring three seasonal nonstop markets back:  Ft. Myers-Nashville and Ft. Lauderdale-Phoenix, each with roundtrip daily service, and we’ll bring back Dayton-Tampa Bay nonstops on Saturdays only.   All of this will be on Southwest.  Continuing our individual nonstop market conversion, we’ll convert twelve nonstop markets from AirTran service to Southwest.  We’ll also convert six previously shared nonstop markets to all Southwest service, while shifting one shared nonstop market to all AirTran.  Four markets that are currently all-AirTran will become shared markets with Southwest—continuing the integration of our networks and expanding Southwest’s footprint in Atlanta. Two nonstop markets will be permanently eliminated—St. Louis-Birmingham and St. Louis-Louisville, although we’ll keep connecting service in both.    Also eliminated to be eliminated are six Southwest seasonal markets, as well as AirTran’s seasonal San Antonio-Cancun, Mexico service. As always, happy booking and have a FANTASTIC week, everyone! ... View more

We’re now accepting bookings all the way to January 5, 2014, which (of course) includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year’s.  This schedule time period is always THE HARDEST SCHEDULE of each year to prepare and publish because of the extreme traffic fluctuations driven by holiday travel.  Couple that with the fact that each of those three holiday periods behave very differently—and, honestly, it’s not a single schedule, it’s a dozen schedules all stitched together to make sure we give our Customers a schedule that meets their travel needs.  So before we dive into the details—and there are lots!—BIG kudos to the entire Network Planning Team.  Once again, my friends and colleagues, you’ve done us proud.  Thank you! Integration of AirTran into Southwest Airlines hits two huge milestones with this schedule.  The final three AirTran-only Stations—Memphis, Pensacola, and Richmond will transition on November 3!  Memphis and Pensacola will completely convert to Southwest, while Richmond begins a phased conversion.  Memphis will have six Southwest departures each weekday, Pensacola will have three, and Richmond will begin with one.  Milestone number two is that the conversion of San Juan, Puerto Rico will be complete effective November 3, when Southwest takes over operation of Atlanta-San Juan service!  As an entirely Southwest operation, Southwest will serve San Juan with 11 daily departures each weekday to five nonstop destinations and connecting/direct service to 74 other cities. There are lots of other interesting little tidbits contained in this schedule, and not just from the usual list of new or eliminated nonstops.  From a structural standpoint, you’re going to notice that we’re going to be shifting flights between Southwest and AirTran markets a lot more frequently.  This is GREATLY enabled now that we have achieved full network connectivity, and is necessary because even though we’re nearly through converting AirTran cities to the Southwest brand, we won’t complete converting all AirTran aircraft to Southwest aircraft until the end of next year.  Because you’re going to notice more and more of those back-and-forth shifts going forward (Dramamine, anyone?), I’m going to change the way I bring you new schedule information.  Please see the new format in the charts below.  And let me know what you think! Besides news from Memphis, Pensacola, Richmond, and San Juan, we’re adding a number of brand new nonstop markets.  We’re adding nonstops from Atlanta to both Hartford and Oklahoma City, and between Austin and New Orleans (you have no idea how many times we’ve been asked to serve that route!).    We’re also adding seasonal nonstops in 13 East Coast/Midwest-Florida markets as we move into colder weather.  On the discontinued side (other than what I’ve already told you about in the conversion stations), we’re eliminating nonstop service between Atlanta and Buffalo, and Denver and both Manchester and Providence.   We’ll also end our seasonal nonstops between Las Vegas and both Hartford and Jacksonville.  All of the market entries and exits, including conversions, are listed below, and as always the most current schedule information is always available at your fingertips at southwest.com.  Southwest / AirTran November, 2013 Base Market Changes Combined System Summary New/Discontinued/Conversion Markets Roundtrip Weekday Frequencies ... View more

About a year ago in a Flashback Friday post, Brian mentioned an entertainment center inside Love Field that existed in the mid-1970s called LLOVE, but he was unable to find a lot of information out about it and even less in the way of pictures.   He and I had chatted about my high-school memories of LLOVE, and we were always going to jointly do a LLOVE post but never got around to it.  Chalk this one up to finishing up old business ... and to honoring a promise to an old friend. After the other airlines left DAL for DFW, the Love Field terminal—other than the Southwest counter and gates—was empty.  Really, really empty.  After-the-neutron-bomb empty.  So the City of Dallas, needing a use for the facility, adopted the concept of putting a roller-skating/ice-skating/dancing/movie-watching/junk-food-eating entertainment center in the old terminal area.  Today this would sound totally insane, but let’s put the idea into context.  The complex opened in 1975 at the dawn of the disco craze, when everybody was on the dance floor; roller skating was suddenly cool again; women’s figure skating was becoming incredibly popular (led by rising star Dorothy Hamill), and mirror balls were everywhere—so how could this idea fail?  (Sarcasm intended)  The concept was simple: offer “young people” a place to hang out, inexpensively, and have fun.  And it was WONDERFUL. Admittedly, my opinion is colored by the facts that I was 15 when this place opened, and I went there a lot.  In fact my high school senior all-night party was held there (shout out to the Irving High School Bicentennial Class of 1976!).   Trust me, you don’t know your classmates until you see them damaging their young bodies skating to the thumping beat of hot songs like “Boogie Fever,” “Love Rollercoaster” or “Disco Lady” under flashing lights at 4:00 a.m. The movies were second-rate, and the food was forgettable—but, for the mid-70s, the place was a BLAST for teens growing up in Dallas County.      One of the few (I should say two) visual images I found was this ad that refers to LLOVE as “The year round Superparty.” LLOVE was a party from the second you walked through the front entrance.  As you entered the main door of the Terminal, you were treated to disco music as you paid your admission ($3 or so) at the ticket booth.  The ice skating rink filled the cavernous main terminal lobby.  It was HUGE, totally covering the historic map of the world on the floor (which has been restored).   The Zamboni was housed in the back of the Lobby, where the 1960s-era barbershop was.  To the left of the ice rink, where our ticket counter was until recently, was a three-screen movie theatre.  Awesome second-tier movies … I remember watching The Way We Were, and every female in my high-school class sobbed in unison!  (Yes, it’s tear-jerker!) Upstairs, above what is now the new security checkpoint, was The Grill snack bar and the dance hot-spot—the Rainbow Room.  Teenagers in platform shoes and Farrah Fawcett hairdos danced the night away!  “Boogie Fever … I think it’s going around…”   Back on the lobby level, to the right of the ice skating rink was the Arcade, with pinball machines and arcade games like Ski-Ball and Whack-A-Mole.  Just past that, where the new ticketing hall is now, was the roller-skating rink.  It had a HUGE mirrored ball over the middle of the rink, and the flashing lights and smoke machines all combined to make this a 70’s disco teenager’s dream-come-true.  Queue the Johnnie Taylor song “Disco Lady,” and let’s all Couples Dance! By 1978, LLOVE had closed.  The City of Dallas didn’t make any money off the venture, so it was terminated, although a whole bunch of us had a heck of good time while it was open.  In the end, LLOVE was a totally bizarre, yet wonderful, footnote in Dallas Love Field’s evolution.  My disco memories of life in platform shoes and leisure suits may not be pretty, but LLOVE won’t be forgotten.  Perhaps the coolest thing is that where LLOVE was, the new LOVE is emerging.      Here’s the only other photo that we have (it ran in a previous Flashback), followed by a great shot of the “new face” of Love.     Less than a month from now the new Love Field concourse will be born!  Updates to follow folks—we have a new LOVE awaiting us.  Have a great week.  ... View more

Leaves are barely beginning to bud here in Dallas, but in Network Planning our thoughts are on Columbus Day, college football, and Libran birthdays. Today we opened the Southwest and AirTran schedules out for sale through November 1, giving us 242 days of bookable inventory.  No full city conversions this time, but we continue the gradual conversion of AirTran’s San Juan service by eliminating AirTran’s daily nonstop roundtrips between San Juan and Ft. Lauderdale, replacing them with TWO daily roundtrips on Southwest.  We’ve got several other market changes to tell you about, both permanent and seasonal, so please read on! On September 29, Southwest will add new daily nonstop roundtrip service between Atlanta and San Diego, between Nashville and Pittsburgh, between Jacksonville, Florida and Chicago/Midway.  And we’ll also add our first service from Des Moines to the West with the addition of daily nonstop roundtrips to Las Vegas!  The new Des Moines-Las Vegas service is timed for hotel checkin and checkout at your favorite Vegas mega-resort as well as for excellent connections at McCarran International for travelers to or from Iowa’s capital.  Other markets being added on a seasonal basis are nonstops between Orlando and both Indianapolis and Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Nonstop service will be discontinued in five seasonal markets—Seattle/Tacoma to Atlanta, Nashville, and Seattle, between Cleveland and Las Vegas, and between Chicago/Midway and Reno.  Nonstops will be permanently eliminated in the El Paso-San Diego market.  However, all six of the discontinued markets will continue to have direct or connecting Southwest service. The AirTran route network continues to evolve as well with the addition of new seasonal service between Columbus and Ft. Myers, and between Ft. Lauderdale and Pittsburgh.  We’ll also add seasonal service between Orlando and both Houston/Hobby and New Orleans, which will supplement long-existing Southwest nonstop service in those markets.  We’ll discontinue seasonal AirTran service between Orlando and Kansas City and between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, but we’ll continue to offer connecting service in those markets on both AirTran and Southwest.   Looking ahead, our next big schedule extension is one worth planning for.  We’ll roll out the November schedules (which will include Thanksgiving!) planned to open for sale on May 6, but that date may change, so please check back frequently on southwest.com.  But in the meantime—be thinking about where AirTran and Southwest can take you in October.  From “leaf peepin’” in New England to sea lion watching in California, we can get you there.  Happy booking, folks—and have a GREAT week! ... View more

This weekend, Southwest and AirTran took a giant leap forward toward fully connecting our two route networks!  Effective for travel beginning Sunday, March 10 th , Southwest and AirTran are now selling shared itineraries between the following 39 cities: Albany Atlanta Austin Baltimore/Washington Boston Buffalo Cancun Charlotte Dayton Ft. Lauderdale Ft. Myers Grand Rapids Hartford/Springfield Islip Jacksonville Louisville Manchester Mexico City Montego Bay Nassau New York/LaGuardia Norfolk Oakland Orange County Orlando Philadelphia Pittsburgh Providence Raleigh/Durham Rochester Sacramento San Antonio San Francisco San Jose Del Cabo San Jose, CA San Juan, Puerto Rico Tampa Bay Washington/Reagan National West Palm Beach Southwest will market domestic nonstops and connections between any of these cities even if travel is entirely aboard AirTran flights.  These Southwest-marketed, AirTran-operated flights will be clearly identified as “operated by AirTran” but you can easily identify the SWA-marketed/AirTran-operated flights by their flight numbers, as they’ll be numbered in the 5001-6999 range (essentially, take the AirTran operating flight number and add 5000 to it). AirTran is selling domestic and international shared itineraries between the same 39 cities in which travel begins or ends on a Southwest Airlines leg.  In AirTran distribution channels, you’ll see the AirTran-marketed, Southwest-operated flights with AirTran code in the flight number range 2001-6999 (take the Southwest operating flight number and add 2000) and will carry a notation that they’re operated by Southwest. This HUGE advancement means that we’ll be able to sell nearly 17,000 additional itineraries every week, and that’s just the start.  The next phase of codeshare roll-out will be even bigger, and we all know what that means—even more destinations and itinerary options for you, our Customers.  Enjoy—and have a great week! Visual learner?  Check this video out to see network connectivity in action. ... View more

Today Southwest and AirTran extended our open-for-sale date from August 9 out to Friday, September 27, giving Customers 235 days of bookable inventory.  During this roughly seven-week date range, we’re continuing the integration of AirTran into the Southwest network, transitioning out of peak summer travel by making changes in some of our seasonal markets, and making permanent changes in others.  Our Network Optimizer’s been working overtime (as have our Network Planners)—so lots of details to follow! We continue to convert AirTran cities to Southwest Stations with the conversion of service at Grand Rapids, Michigan, which will be the 11th AirTran-only city converted to Southwest service!  We’ll supplement AirTran’s two daily nonstops between Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Baltimore/Washington by replacing them with three weekday Southwest nonstops, and we’ll maintain AirTran’s daily nonstop service between Grand Rapids and Orlando using Southwest aircraft.  We will also sweeten the pie for Grand Rapids by introducing new nonstop service between Grand Rapids and both St. Louis and Denver.  AirTran’s Saturday-only service between Tampa Bay and Grand Rapids will end, but we’ll continue to offer several daily connections between the two airports.  With six weekday departures from Grand Rapids, Southwest will double AirTran’s existing schedule of three departures a day from Grand Rapids.  By upgrading those departures to Boeing 737s, we’ll offer 450 more seats out of West Michigan each business day with nonstop, direct, and connecting service to 71 Southwest airports.  Grand Rapids isn’t the only newly converted city in Michigan to get some LUV!  We haven’t even started flying to Flint yet, but starting on August 11, Southwest will add daily nonstop service between Flint and Las Vegas, timed specifically for hotel checkin/checkout in Vegas as well as for excellent connections to/from other Southwest airports via McCarran Airport. Elsewhere around the Southwest network, we’re making numerous frequency changes.  We’ll discontinue our seasonal nonstops in eleven roundtrip markets:  Albuquerque-Orlando Albany-Ft. Lauderdale Austin-Portland, Oregon Baltimore/Washington-Seattle/Tacoma Panama City, Florida-St. Louis Ft. Lauderdale-Kansas City Ft. Lauderdale-Philadelphia Ft. Lauderdale-Phoenix Houston/Hobby-Seattle/Tacoma Jacksonville-Las Vegas San Diego-St. Louis Branson, MO-Orlando (was Saturday-only service) Southwest will also permanently end nonstop flights in five markets: Baltimore/Washington-Jackson, Mississippi Greenville/Spartanburg-Orlando Las Vegas-Manchester, New Hampshire Kansas City-Oklahoma City Chicago/Midway-Orange County All of these discontinued nonstop markets will retain connecting service. We’ve been equally busy on the AirTran network.  We’ll expand our presence in Memphis by adding new nonstop service in three markets:  two daily roundtrips between Memphis and Chicago/Midway, and one daily roundtrip between Memphis and both Baltimore/Washington and Orlando.  These new flights supplement our existing four weekday roundtrips between Memphis and Atlanta.  (In my best Elvis voice impression: “Uh, thankya, thankyaveramuch.”)  We’ll also temporarily supplement existing Southwest nonstop service between August 11 and September 2, 2013 only with one new AirTran nonstop roundtrip in eleven markets:  between Austin and both Baltimore/Washington and Orlando; between Baltimore/Washington and Houston/Hobby, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Raleigh Durham; between Houston/Hobby and Las Vegas; and between Chicago/Midway and both Los Angeles and Raleigh/Durham.  AirTran’s summer seasonal nonstops will end in the following 18 Florida markets:             Boston-Orlando Buffalo-Ft. Lauderdale Columbus-Ft. Lauderdale Columbus-Ft. Meyers Columbus-Tampa Bay Dayton-Tampa Bay Detroit-Orlando Ft. Lauderdale-Indianapolis Ft. Lauderdale-Milwaukee Ft. Lauderdale-Raleigh/Durham Houston/Hobby-Orlando Houston/Hobby-Tampa Bay Orlando-Minneapolis/St. Paul Orlando-New Orleans Tampa Bay-Chicago/Midway West Palm Beach-Philadelphia Philadelphia-Ft. Meyers Philadelphia-Tampa Bay In all of these markets, nonstop or connecting service will continue on either AirTran of Southwest.  Also on September 3, AirTran’s seasonal Baltimore/Washington-Bermuda service will end.  Across the rest of AirTran’s network, almost every single market will see minor frequency changes on a less-than-daily basis. What’s next?  We’re already hard at work on the next schedule opening, which will extend the schedule out until November 3.  That’s currently planned to open on March 4 (although that date could change).  Until then, stay warm, have a great Valentine’s Day, and enjoy your week! ... View more

It’s the 49ers vs. the Ravens in the big game!  As soon as the games in Foxborough and Atlanta were over, both Southwest and AirTran got busy adding extra flights to accommodate the additional demand to the NFL Championship in New Orleans on February 3. We’ve added the following: Thursday, January 31: Atlanta-New Orleans:  One extra AirTran flight for a total of five nonstops that day. (No, the Falcons didn’t win, but this is for connectivity!) San Francisco-New Orleans:  Two nonstops on Southwest. (Special nonstop service!) Baltimore/Washington-New Orleans:  Two added nonstops on Southwest, for a total of four. Monday, February 4: New Orleans-Atlanta:  Two extra AirTran flights, making a total of six for the day. New Orleans-Baltimore:  Two added Southwest nonstops, for a total of four. New Orleans-San Francisco:  Two Southwest nonstops. (Special nonstop return service!) AirTran flights are available on airtran.com, and Southwest service is available on southwest.com.  As the big game is just before Mardi Gras, something tells me New Orleans is going to make this one incredibly special event.  Southwest and AirTran will help our Customers get to the party!  Please help spread the word by making sure your friends and family know we’ve got this extra service out there.  Have a great week! ... View more

Happy Holidays, everyone!  Today, Southwest is adding new seasonal nonstops in several Florida markets to make it easier to lose the wind chill and gain a tan line!  Effective February 15 - April 13 of next year, we’re bringing back daily roundtrip nonstops between Orlando and Oklahoma City (which we haven’t flown since 2008!), and adding NEW nonstop service between Orlando and Little Rock!  We’ll also be adding a third daily nonstop roundtrip between Tampa Bay and both Columbus and St. Louis.  Then, from March 10 through April 13 we’re adding a second flight  between Louisville and Tampa Bay, and between Kansas City and Ft. Lauderdale.  We’ll also add a fourth daily roundtrip between St. Louis and Tampa Bay!  And to make sure we show some LUV to our friends in the Valley of the Sun we’re also adding a fourth nonstop between Kansas City and Phoenix/Sky Harbor.   Flights are available at southwest.com or at 1-800-I-FLY-SOUTHWEST right now.  And, of course, winter vacation trips make FANTASTIC Holiday gifts!!!  Happy booking! ... View more