Southwest Airlines Announces 13 New Redeyes & 1st-Ever International Service From Colorado Springs
Southwest Airlines has just extended its flight schedule through the summer of 2025. With this extension, the low-cost giant announced many new routes across the US and beyond. These include its new longest route in the continental US, along with more red-eye flights and a unique, first-of-its-kind international service from Colorado.
Even more redeye flights
Southwest is known to do things differently than its competitors. Among its differing strategies was a lack of redeye flights: while the carrier had some late-night arrivals and sold overnight layovers, the airline famously avoided flights that departed past midnight and arrived early in the morning.
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However, that changed on July 25, 2024, when the carrier announced its plans to launch redeye flights. Since publishing its initial redeye schedule, slated to begin on February 13, 2025, it has expanded its overnight offerings several times. Most recently, it added 13 new flights that will depart in the late evening:
- Honolulu to Los Angeles
- Lihue to Las Vegas
- Long Beach to Baltimore/Washington
- Ontario to Baltimore/Washington
- Portland, Oregon to Baltimore/Washington
- Sacramento to Orlando
- San Francisco to Baltimore/Washington
- San Francisco to Nashville
- San Jose, California to Baltimore/Washington
- Seattle to Baltimore/Washington
- Seattle to Chicago (Midway)
- Seattle to Houston (Hobby)
- Seattle to Nashville
Beginning next year
These routes will launch on June 5, 2025. As seen, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) will be the destination for many of these new redeye trips. While the airport’s proximity to Washington, DC, makes it an attractive market for cross-country flights, it is also a major base for Southwest.
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BWI is Southwest’s fourth-busiest city in terms of passenger traffic and the carrier’s main gateway to the East Coast. Southwest likely hopes to connect passengers to other destinations in New England and along the eastern seaboard. The airline will also launch its partnership with Icelandair out of BWI next year, and these new routes could help feed traffic to services to Europe.
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International service for Colorado Springs
Southwest’s expansion did not stop with the announcement of new redeyes. The carrier also revealed a Saturday-only seasonal service between Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) and Cancun, Mexico. This service will be the Colorado city’s first international route and will launch on June 7, 2025.
Southwest has only served Colorado Springs for slightly over three years. The city was added to the carrier’s expansion during the pandemic, and Southwest’s first flight to COS occurred in March 2021. Now, according to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Southwest carries over half of the traffic in Colorado Springs.
Photo: Southwest Airlines
In addition to its initial services to Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago (Midway), and Dallas-Love Field, the carrier has added daily service to Baltimore/Washington and additional services to Houston (Hobby), San Antonio, and San Diego. Southwest’s success in the market is undoubtedly the reason for the launch of this international service.
Southwest has revealed an ambitious schedule for the summer of 2025. By adding new redeye services and launching an international route from Colorado Springs, the carrier is positioning itself as the carrier of choice among leisure travelers next summer.
