A Rundown of the Big New Routes That Will Be Launched in 2019

You’re going to have some new routes to try out in 2019. A number of airlines are gearing up to debut new routes in the new year. Southwest alone has a handful of new direct routes in the pipeline. Nashville is at the center of Southwest’s route expansions. The Southern city will gain new direct routes and get expanded service for several existing routes.

That means that travelers will soon have more options when traveling from Nashville to hot spots like Boston, Detroit, Las Vegas, St. Louis, San Diego and Minneapolis-St. Paul. In addition to Southwest’s exciting new Nashville routes, travelers can also look forward to new options out of Nebraska, Texas and California.

Southwest isn’t all about expansion at the moment. The airline recently made the surprise decision to stop plans to fly from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Southwest had originally planned to add five daily flights from that airport. A revised plan will see Southwest entering into a slot-transfer agreement with Alaska Airlines instead. Southwest has also announced that it plans to drop routes from Atlanta to Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul in June.

Southwest has some new international routes to warm-weather destinations up its sleeve. New Saturday-only flights that will take passengers from Baltimore–Washington International Airport to the Cayman Islands have been announced. In addition, Southwest customers will be able to get from Houston to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Take a look at everything that’s coming up from Southwest and when you can expect the new routes to launch.

Here are the routes that launch on June 9:

• Daily flights from Nashville to Burbank, California.

• Daily flights from Nashville to San Jose, California.

• Daily flights from Nashville to Norfolk, Virginia.

• Seasonal Sunday-only flights from Nashville to Omaha, Nebraska.

• Daily flights from San Diego to Omaha, Nebraska.

• Four daily roundtrip flights from San Francisco to Ontario, California.

• Daily flights from Austin to Raleigh-Durham.

Here are the routes that launch on June 15:

• Seasonal Saturday-only flights from Baltimore-Washington to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

• Seasonal Saturday-only flights from Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Don’t forget that Southwest also plans to launch new Hawaiian routes soon. No word has been given yet regarding what those routes will look like or how much tickets will cost. However, the word on the street is that ticket sales will launch by the end of the year. Southwest is awaiting FAA approval before making its new Hawaiian routes official.

Southwest isn’t the only game in town when it comes to new routes. Delta also has a newsworthy new route planned for 2019. The airline is introducing twice-daily service between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Hollywood Burbank Airport beginning on July 8. The new route will certainly enhance Atlanta’s status as the busiest and most important hub in the United States.

[Image: Wikimedia Commons]