Dallas-based 
Southwest Airlines is set to soar to new heights from cities such as Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego for the summer of 2026. The low-cost carrier today announced intentions to increase capacity on several services, while adding new routes out of key US airports.
This comes at a time when Southwest was already making headlines, becoming the latest carrier to add the 49th state, Alaska, to its route map. Direct flights to Anchorage International Airport are expected to take off in the first half of 2026.
International Services From Las Vegas
Southwest will launch nonstop international services from Las Vegas next year. The previously announced services to Cancun are set to fly from June 4; however, additional services will also take off to Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, also launching June 4. Already, the low-cost giant operates services from LAS to 22 of the 25 top US travel markets (Based on the Department of Transportation O&D Survey).
The world’s largest operator of the Boeing 737, and a pioneer in low-cost aviation, will boost frequencies on eight routes from Las Vegas, including Nashville, Burbank, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Orlando, New Orleans, Reno, and Tampa. Overall, Southwest remains the largest operator at Las Vegas 
Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), commanding over 40% of all flight operations (according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics). Adam Decaire, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Network Operations Control at Southwest Airlines, explained:
“”In designing our summer 2026 schedule, we examined industry trends and identified locations – like Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego – where we are able to provide Customers more choices when they’re booking travel. We’re boosting service in locations where we’ve always had a strong presence to offer Customers even more service than ever before in those cities.”
San Diego Flights
With Terminal 1 at 
San Diego International Airport (SAN) now open, Southwest has scheduled more than 134 trips on peak days across the summer of 2026. This will reach 43 destinations from the Southern California city. New routes from SAN will launch on June 4 to 
Boston Logan International Airport, while the airline will also grow its intra-state network, with flights to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) increasing to eight times daily on peak days.
San Diego Airport is iconic in its location, being just 2.6 nautical miles (4.8 km) from downtown San Diego, with aircraft taking off and landing near the downtown central business district. The airport has a relatively small footprint size-wise, but has an extensive number of domestic and international operations. Southwest’s network will grow with several other previously announced services at SAN in the next 12 months, including:
|
Destination |
Starting Date |
|---|---|
|
Boston |
June 4, 2026 |
|
Kahului |
March 5, 2026 |
|
Puerto Vallarta |
March 5, 2026 |
|
Santa Rosa |
April 7, 2026 |
|
Seattle/Tacoma |
March 5, 2026 |
|
Bozeman |
March 7, 2026 (seasonal) |
|
Eugene |
November 22, 2025 (seasonal) |
|
Omaha |
November 22, 2025 (seasonal) |
|
Spokane |
March 7, 2026 (seasonal) |
Between March 2024 and February 2025, Southwest remained the airport’s largest operator, providing more than 7.8 million available seats from the airport. This represented a 32% market share, almost three times that of its closest competitor, United Airlines (12%). Data was provided by BTS.
More Flights To More Destinations
Adding to the carrier’s latest route news, it has added capacity on 11 routes out of Orlando International Airport (MCO), to both domestic and international destinations, including Austin, Nashville, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and San Juan (Puerto Rico).
A new daily flight will launch from Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) on June 4 (the same day as services resume to Seattle/Tacoma). In addition, flights have been added to the carriers’ schedules between Austin and Indianapolis (up to three flights daily across the summer). Services to San Francisco will also grow to twice daily during the week.
For those keeping count, the last two new routes to be announced this week will be the carrier’s first foray into Alaska, with direct flights to Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC). These services will take off from Denver and Las Vegas, both scheduled to commence on May 15.
