Southwest launches Caribbean routes
Southwest Airlines has announced flights to a trio of Caribbean destinations, in its first foray into the international market under its own name.
Beginning July 1, the carrier will fly to Aruba and Montego Bay from Atlanta and Orlando and to Aruba, Nassau, and Montego Bay twice daily from Baltimore/Washington.
All routes are available for booking from today.
Although these will be the first overseas routes under the Southwest Airlines flag, it is not exactly new territory for the carrier.
In 2011, it acquired Air Tran Airways as a wholly-owned subsidiary which currently operates independently to international destinations including Nassau, Montego Bay, Cancun, Los Cabos, Mexico City, and Punta Cana.
The company hopes to integrate all Air Tran flights into the Southwest Airlines fleet by the end of 2014.
This will create a single network to 97 destinations in the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
The company said it will also fully integrate ticketing and loyalty programs at the same time.
Last week Dallas-based Southwest posted 2013 full year net income of $754 million, its 41st consecutive year in profit.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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