Southwest Airlines’ Largest Summer Ever: 20 New and Returning Routes for 2027

Southwest Airlines opened its summer 2027 schedule for booking today, and the carrier is calling this its largest summer ever.

Most of the momentum is going into 3 markets the airline has been growing: Austin, Nashville, and San Diego.

The announcement also includes seasonal service stretched across the rest of the map. Add everything up, and there are 20 new and returning seasonal routes worth a look before you map out next summer.

Austin

Southwest is pushing up to 143 daily departures in Austin, where it has flown for almost 50 years. The new schedule brings 7 seasonal routes, 5 of which the airline has never operated from Austin before.

The newly announced schedule includes 3 international routes operating on weekends through June and July.

Austin picks up service to Liberia, Costa Rica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. They join an existing international lineup of Cancun, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, and San José, Costa Rica.

On the domestic side, seasonal daily flights to Portland, Oregon, are back, along with Saturday-only service to Sarasota, Florida. Austin also gains weekend round-trips to Savannah, Georgia, and, for the first time, Saturday-only flights to Bozeman, Montana.

Nashville

Nashville lands Southwest’s biggest summer yet, up to 220 trips a day. That works out to as many as 20 more departures than summer 2026, part of a steady climb since Southwest opened a crew base in the city in 2024.

The list here is anchored by 5 seasonal routes, 3 of which are new: Nashville connects to Boise, Idaho; Nassau, Bahamas; and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. The other 2 bring back seasonal service to Bozeman, Montana, and Portland, Oregon.

Construction is also underway on Southwest lounges in both Nashville and Austin, 2 of the 4 lounges the airline plans to open.

San Diego

San Diego is Southwest’s largest market in California, and it is growing to up to 150 trips through the summer. The airline is also adding year-round frequency, with up to 6 trips on peak days between San Diego and Austin and 3 trips each weekday between San Diego and Seattle.

There will also be seasonal additions on 5 routes from San Diego. The only new route is Sunday service to Oklahoma City. The other 4 are returning seasonal routes that link San Diego with Bozeman, Montana; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; and Pittsburgh.

Other Destinations Getting a Boost

A handful of other cities round out the 20-strong route list. Las Vegas climbs to up to 278 trips a day, 12 more than a year ago, and Orlando rises to up to 173 trips, up 17 year over year. Another 3 routes all return for the season: Daily Las Vegas to Anchorage service is back in June 2027, and Bozeman, Montana, reconnects to both Chicago Midway and Dallas.

Final Thoughts

All told, Southwest has scheduled 4,498 trips on peak days for summer 2027, the most it has ever run in a single summer. The schedule covers June 3 through August 2, 2027, and it is built from 5 distinct daily schedules. Southwest will publish a reduced July 4 schedule later.

The new and returning routes are bookable now at Southwest.com. If one of these seasonal routes lines up with your plans, booking your dates early is a smart move before other people gobble up the seats.