Featured image: Michael Rodeback/Airways

Southwest Airlines Expands Texas Nonstop Flights

DALLAS – Southwest Airlines (WN)  has announced its Spring 2025 schedule, introducing new and returning nonstop flight options for passengers traveling through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). 

Starting March 6, 2025, WN will launch nonstop seasonal service from Austin to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and year-round service to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). 

These new cities join seasonal destinations such as Panama City (ECP), Florida , Montrose (MTJ), Colorado, and San Juan (SJU), Puerto Rico.

Austin-Bergstrom’s CEO, Ghizlane Badawi, expressed enthusiasm for the expanded offerings, noting that the airline will operate 125 daily nonstop flights from Austin at peak service.

So far, WN has announced these firther seven destuinations slated to start early March 2025:

• Nashville (BNA) to Punta Cana (PUJ)• Nashville (BNA) to Los Cabos (SJD)• Nashville (BNA) to Indianapolis (IND)• Austin (AUS) to Milwaukee (MKE)• Austin (AUS) to Reno (RNO)• Sacramento (SMF) to Tucson (TUS)• Sacramento (SMF) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR)

Austin-Bergstrom in Numbers

The airport's report on passenger and cargo activity at AUS in June 2024 compared to June 2023 and the year-to-date figures for 2024 versus 2023 shows the following:

  1. Passenger Activity:
    1. Total Passenger Activity:
      1. Overall passenger activity showed minimal growth, with a slight increase of 0.18% in June 2024 compared to June 2023. Year-to-date, there was a 0.68% increase in total passenger numbers.
    2. Domestic vs. International:
      1. Domestic enplaned and deplaned revenue passengers slightly decreased by around 0.95% and 0.79%, respectively, while international enplaned and deplaned revenue passengers saw significant increases of 8.43% and 7.69%.
      2. Non-revenue passenger counts for domestic and international categories declined, with the international enplaned non-revenue category seeing a notable drop of 23.11%.
  2. Terminals:
    1. The Barbara Jordan Terminal (BJT) handled most of the passenger traffic with a slight overall decline in enplaned and deplaned passengers.
    2. The South Terminal showed a significant increase in domestic enplaned revenue passengers by 16.00% and deplaned by 13.02%, although its overall passenger numbers slightly decreased year-to-date.
  3. Cargo Activity:
    1. The report highlights a robust increase in cargo activity, with a 16.50% rise in total cargo handled in June 2024 compared to June 2023 and a 4.98% increase year-to-date.
    2. Domestic enplaned and deplaned cargo both saw significant growth, with deplaned cargo increasing by 23.02%.
    3. Belly freight totals showed a 29.33% increase in June 2024 compared to June 2023, contributing to the overall positive trend in cargo activity.
    4. Mail activity sharply declined, with a 98.28% decrease in total mail handled in June 2024 compared to the previous year.
  4. Other Highlights:
    1. The report includes detailed breakdowns of the market shares for different airlines in passenger and cargo transport.
    2. A record passenger number was set in May 2024, highlighting an ongoing trend of high passenger activity.

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