Southwest Airlines has announced in a press release an enlarged flight schedule running from Oct.31 through Jan. 4, 2021. The airline intends to lure more leisure and business travelers through its key hubs using additional flights and new routes during the fall and winter holidays.
While Southwest looks to the end of 2020 with more flights for leisure travelers, the carrier is adding a more vigorous schedule for business travelers with more frequencies and more nonstop flight options for customers who wish to travel from Phoenix; Nashville, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Denver. Starting Nov. 1, the Dallas-based carrier will add nonstop service between Phoenix and Long Beach, Calif., three times daily,. And beginning Nov. 2, the airline will fly nonstop between Nashville and Santa Ana, Calif., once daily except Sundays.
Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer hopes that these new routes will attract business travelers who will consider the airline for their travels once they are ready to return to work and travel.
“We’re rounding out our plan for this unprecedented year with our business travelers in mind with a fourth-quarter schedule that brings them new routes across the country. We’re also offering more flights for all of our customers in places such as Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Phoenix,” Watterson said in a statement. “We anticipate business travelers will hit the road with a heightened focus on costs, so we’re pairing unmatched schedules with our value and hospitality to welcome them back, whenever they’re ready to travel.”
In addition, to continue the airline’s focus and vision for the future while allocating efforts and attempts to attract business travelers, Southwest Airlines will add several new nonstop links on Dec. 17 between Denver and Birmingham, Ala.; Witchita, Kan. and Little Rock, Ark. Each planned service will be once daily. The carrier will also be flying nonstop between Atlanta and Oklahoma City, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.; and Louisville, Ky., and each is planned to be operated three times daily.
As the U.S. begins to recover from the global pandemic and its economic impact, specifically on the airline industry, Southwest is eager to adjust itself to better serve its customers and expand its horizons to include a new group of customers. In this case, that new group of customers would be those who travel for work. Southwest has historically catered to the leisure traveler to a greater degree than other U.S. carriers.
“Never before has Southwest been more primed to emerge as the preferred choice of corporate travel as the business climate across America begins its recovery,” Watterson added.
Source: airlinegeeks.com