Southwest Airlines expands nonstop flights to Texas

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

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

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

Ghizlane Badawi, CEO of Austin-Bergstrom, expressed enthusiasm about the expanded service, noting that the airline will operate 125 nonstop flights daily from Austin during peak periods.

The airport’s report on passenger and cargo activities at AUS in June 2024 compared to June 2023 and the annual figures for 2024 compared to 2023 show the following:

1. Passenger activity:
   1. Total passenger activity:
      1. Total passenger activity showed minimal growth, with a slight increase of 0.18% in June 2024 compared to June 2023. Year-to-date, there has been a 0.68% increase in total passenger numbers.
   2. Domestic vs. foreign:
      1. The number of domestic passengers embarking and disembarking decreased slightly by about 0.95% and 0.79% respectively, while the number of international passengers embarking and disembarking increased significantly by 8.43% and 7.69% respectively.
      2. The number of non-profitable passengers decreased in both domestic and international traffic. In the category of non-profitable international flights, there was a significant decrease of 23.11%.
2. Connections:
   1. The Barbara Jordan Terminal (BJT) handled the majority of passenger traffic, although there was a slight decrease in the number of passengers embarking and disembarking overall.
   2. The South Terminal recorded a significant increase in the number of domestic passengers embarking and disembarking by 16.00% and 13.02%, respectively, although the total number of passengers decreased slightly over the year.
3. Cargo activity:
   1. The report highlights a sharp increase in cargo activity, with total cargo volume handled increasing by 16.50% in June 2024 compared to June 2023 and up 4.98% year-to-date.
   2. Both the number of domestic cargoes loaded and unloaded recorded significant growth, with the increase in unloaded cargo being 23.02%.
   3. The total volume of belly cargo increased by 29.33% in June 2024 compared to June 2023, contributing to the overall positive trend in cargo activity.
   4. Postal activity declined sharply. In June 2024, the decrease in total mail processed was 98.28% compared to the previous year.
4. Further highlights:
   1. The report provides a detailed breakdown of the market shares of various airlines in passenger and cargo transport.
   2. A passenger record was recorded in May 2024, underlining the continued trend of high passenger activity.