![]() ![]() "Especially in our business-type routes because those are the ones that have less frequency than they do before." 1 objective is to restore the network we had pre-pandemic," then-chief commercial officer Andrew Watterson told TPG at the time. "For next year and the year after, the No. However, that expansion left it stretched thin, with more established routes and markets seeing fewer nonstop flights and frequencies.Īs TPG reported last November, the airline planned to use 2022 to focus on restoring depth and density to its network. In 2021, that route map stretched to more points than ever, with 18 new markets added to its network, a rare expansion story as the airline industry struggled to climb out of the worst of the pandemic slowdown. and parts of Mexico and Central America, with service and focus cities up and down the East Coast throughout the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest and even down to Hawaii. Over the 51 years since it was founded in Dallas, the airline has stretched its route map across the U.S. Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free new biweekly Aviation newsletter. The airline plans to have restored 90% of its pre-pandemic network by next summer, with all of it fully restored by the end of 2023. If the border begins reopening in the coming weeks, Ward said, that would put Southwest in a good position to market the Bellingham airport to travelers in lower British Columbia for the fall flights.Among the biggest frustrations for longtime Southwest flyers over the past two years has been seeing the airline cut nonstop routes and flight frequencies, often forcing passengers to make a connection they otherwise could have avoided.īy the end of next year, that coronavirus pandemic-era problem should be gone, Southwest executives say. and Canada work toward lifting pandemic restrictions at the border. The timing of Southwest’s announcement comes as the U.S. “We’re thrilled to have Southwest here, it’s such great news,” Ward said. With its low fares, flights from Bellingham to Oakland to, say, Hawaii becomes another option to driving to Seattle for Hawaii flights, she said. ![]() While the Allegiant model focuses on getting passengers to one vacation destination and offering hotel/car rental packages, Southwest offers quite a few connecting flights out of Oakland and Las Vegas, including luggage transfers. The Oakland and Las Vegas destinations are ones that Bellingham already offers through Allegiant Air, but there are advantages to having Southwest also fly to those places, said Sandy Ward, president and CEO of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism. Tickets between Bellingham and those destinations are now available for purchase for as low as $39 one way at, according to the release. Service initially is set to include once-daily flights between Bellingham and Las Vegas and twice-daily flights to and from Oakland, according to the release. “With this service pattern, customers traveling from nearly 40 airports across the Southwest network will be able to land closer to southern British Columbia, Canada,” said a Southwest release.Īccording to the airline’s route map, it currently offers nonstop service to 35 destinations from Oakland and 66 from Las Vegas. Southwest Airlines on Thursday, June 10, announced that it will begin daily service to and from Bellingham International Airport one week after Halloween and its initial two destinations will be Las Vegas, Nevada, and Oakland, California. 7, you can do just that and escape to the sunshine in California or Nevada. Wanna get away from Bellingham’s rain and cold this winter? Beginning Nov. ![]()
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