Southwest Airlines will add several routes this year, including
service from Cincinnati and more service in Florida and the West Coast.
On June 4, Southwest will challenge Delta at its Cincinnati
hub with service to Chicago Midway International and Baltimore-Washington
International airports. A Southwest spokesperson said corporate clients were a
big part of the decision to add the service and that the carrier already had secured
agreements with corporations in the region before announcing the service.
Delta downsized its Cincinnati hub significantly after its
2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, which brought in hubs in Detroit and
Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Southwest also will add service between Cleveland and
Atlanta and is boosting its service between Cleveland and St. Louis. Its
service from Akron-Canton and Dayton, Ohio, however, will end June 3.
On the West Coast, Southwest will add several routes out of
San Diego, including to Boise and Salt Lake City and seasonal service to
Newark, Spokane and Indianapolis. It also will add service between Portland,
Ore., and San Francisco and between San Jose and Reno, as well as seasonal
service between Oakland and Newark.
In Florida, Southwest is bulking up service from Fort
Lauderdale, including new routes to Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Belize and
Cancun. On the domestic side, the carrier will add nonstop service from Fort
Lauderdale to each Orlando, Washington Dulles and Philadelphia. Southwest also
is adding service between Tampa and New York LaGuardia and between Pensacola
and Denver.
Other
flights planned to begin June 4 include service between Newark and Indianapolis
and between Nashville and Minneapolis. In all, Southwest plans to boost
capacity 3.5 percent year over year in 2017.