Southwest Airlines Introduces 13 New Red-Eye Routes to Its Network

Southwest Airlines has revealed 13 new overnight routes—also known as red-eyes—due to launch next summer as the budget carrier tries to win over business and younger travelers and fend off an activist investor pushing for change.

With the extension of its booking schedule through August 4, Southwest has announced 13 new red-eye routes, including four that it has never operated. All of these journeys will begin on June 5.

Photo: Courtesy of Southwest Airlines / Stephen M. Keller

Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) will continue to serve as Southwest’s primary east-coast destination for red-eye flights. As one of Southwest’s key hubs, Baltimore will be the endpoint for six initial 20 overnight flights and will see an additional six routes added over the summer.

That includes three routes Southwest has never before operated:

Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board of Airport Commissioners, enthusiastically welcomed the new overnight flight from Canada to Maryland. “We could not be happier with the new Southwest service to the greater Washington, D.C., area via BWI, which will be our 26^th nonstop destination,” he said.

Southwest will also revive two links to Baltimore it last operated before the pandemic:

The final flight headed to BWI is from Seattle (SEA), which will become a major point of departure for Southwest’s night owl schedule, with four flights:

The four remaining flights connect Hawaii to the West Coast and the West Coast to the major vacation destinations:

Although in the skies since 1971, Southwest has never operated overnight flights. Until recently, its antiquated reservation system couldn’t accommodate flights taking off on one day and landing the next morning in a different time zone. Instead, Southwest made its name with short daytime hops between regional cities.

Even after it upgraded its software, Southwest stuck to daytime flying to keep its schedules consistent and avoid paying staff for overnights.

But facing declining revenue, the famously idiosyncratic carrier has rethought core parts of its business.

External Intervention

Some of that motivation has come from outside the company. In June, hedge fund Elliott Investment Management took an 11 percent stake in the company and used its investment to push for change at Southwest, including the ouster of top staff.

Southwest has responded with major shifts, some overturning long traditions within the airline. In 2026, Southwest will scrap its festival-style seating policy and assign passengers seats at booking. It will also sell premium seats to raise $1.5 billion in additional revenue.

However, red-eye flights have been in the works at Southwest since before Elliott intervened.

“A Logical Evolution”

Last November, CEO Bob Jordan told the Dallas Morning News that red-eye flights were “a logical evolution for us.”

“We have the aircraft; it’s a great way to use an asset that you already have and use it more productively, which means more hours in the day.”

Graphic: Courtesy of greatcirclemap.com / Markus Englund

Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson reiterated that rationale during a third-quarter earnings call in October: “In addition to reducing turn times, the introduction of red-eye flights is another key component of increasing asset productivity and improving the connectivity and efficiency of the network.”

During that earnings call, Southwest revealed its profit was down 65 percent from last year’s third quarter. However, the $67 million reported profit was better than Wall Street forecasts that the carrier would break even.

Positive Forecasts for Southwest

The Dallas-based company also predicted its takings in the fourth quarter would be stronger. “Thus far in the quarter, travel demand remains healthy, and bookings-to-date for the holiday season are strong, demonstrating the continued resilience of the leisure travel market,” Southwest said in an earnings publication.

The airline has also reached a deal with Elliott that will keep Jordan in his job while adding six candidates nominated by the investor to the board.

Photo: Courtesy of Southwest Airlines / Stephen M. Keller

Meanwhile, next summer, Southwest will launch the first-ever international flight from Colorado Springs Airport (COS), a seasonal departure to Cancún, Mexico (CUN).

“This is a huge win for our community and marks the beginning of a new chapter for COS with international service for the first time in our history,” said Greg Phillips, COS’s director of aviation.

The route will launch on June 7 and run once weekly through the summer.

Southwest’s New Red-Eye Flight Schedule