Southwest Airlines will tomorrow begin a new chapter – flying overseas for the first time.
On Tuesday Southwest starts flights to the Bahamas, Aruba and Jamaica, fllowed by Cancún and Los Cabos, Mexico, on August 10, and Mexico City and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in November.
AirTran Airways, which Southwest acquired in 2011, has been operating these routes under its own existing brand but these flights will now be taken over by Southwest.
Air Tran will complete its final flight on December 28 when it will be fully integrated into the Southwest fleet.
We’ve been waiting for 43 years to get to this point and it’s a pretty big deal for us to plant our name and flag in international waters," said Southwest executive Teresa Laraba.
While it is a big first step overseas for the Dallas based carrier, CEO Gary Kelly says international routes will contribute only around 1% of capacity in 2014.
"I think it’s going to continue to be a relatively modest component of the Southwest route system over the next several years," Kelly said.
Kelly said launching international services was "our top priority for this year."
As the start of international flights takes Southwest into a new era, a link to its past was cut late last week following the death of co-founder Rollin King who passed away in Dallas aged 83.
