Southwest Airlines Co. LUV has announced several new domestic and international services. Likewise, the carrier has extended its bookable schedule until Jan 6, 2019.The new schedules are part of the busy holiday season.
Domestic Expansion
The low-cost carrier will initiate non-stop services connecting New York (LaGuardia) with New Orleans, West Palm Beach and Orlando. The flights between New York and New Orleans will begin on Nov 4, 2018 while that connecting New York with West Palm Beach and Orlando will start from Nov 10 onward and will be a Saturday-only service.
The airline will further bump up the existing New York service with an additional weekday non-stop flight to Dallas, Denver and Kansas City. Each flight will be operational from Nov 4 onward.
It is to be noted that at the end of this November, the airline will offer a total of 35 flights per day from LaGuardia.
Keeping the upcoming holiday season in mind, the airlines are perhaps on an expansion spree, especially with focus on the densely populated New York. Given the heavy traffic during the time and a major chunk of travelers coming from New York, it is unsurprising that the carriers would want to best utilize this opportunity to draw larger profits. Earlier in May, United Airlines, the wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. UAL and Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL announced several new routes from the East coast region.
Coming back to Southwest, the carrier plans to widen its base across the nation’s capital with new flights from Washington, D.C. (Reagan National) to Oklahoma City. Further, the carrier will increase frequency, between flights connecting Washington, D.C. with Nashville and Dallas. Each service is scheduled to be launched on Nov 4.
The carrier’s northern California expansion is also noteworthy. On Nov 4, it will introduce new non-stop flights between San Jose and Tucson, running from Sunday through Friday. Additionally, the carrier will add a couple of flights daily to the existing San Jose-Portland and San Jose-Orange Countyservices.
Also, from the same date onward, Southwest will add services connecting Burbank with Houston and Chicago. Flights will operate from Sunday to Friday.
Moreover, the carrier will ramp up its service from Long Beach on high customer demand. It will initiate seasonal services between Long Beach and Sacramento as well as between Long Beach and Las Vegas. The services will run from Sep 5, 2018 through Oct. 31.
The carrier will further add a daily non-stop service between Denver and Lubbock. Additionally, it will begin a Sunday service connecting Houston with Philadelphia and Sacramento. Also, it will extend its previously announced Sunday service between Denver and El Paso. The flight will now be in operation from Sunday through Friday. All services are expected to be operational beginning Nov 4.
International Expansion
Southwest will expand its Cuban service with a third daily nonstop flight between Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Havana beginning Aug 7, 2018.
In addition, it will kick offa weekend service between Chicago and Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos. Effective Nov 4, this new route is subject to government approval.
Furthermore, the carrier will resume a seasonal daily service connecting Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywoodwith Belize; Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood with Grand Cayman; Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood with Turks and Caicos,Denver with Puerto Vallarta, Houston with Liberia and St. Louis with Cancun starting Nov 4.
Zacks Rank & Key Pick
Southwest has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
A better-ranked stock in the airline space is SkyWest, Inc. SKYW, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of SkyWest have soared more than 58% in a year.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment