These Are Southwest Airlines’ 5 Shortest One-Stop Routes

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the five shortest one-stop routes of

Southwest Airlines

(SWA) will offer two million Available Seat Miles (ASMs) in September 2024. The stops are often at airports that aren’t the biggest in their respective states.

Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock

On these five one-stop routes, SWA has a total of fifty operations, offering over 7,100 seats. This roughly equates to 144 seats per departure. Two of these routes are less than 300 miles long. Let’s take a look at these numbers in detail.

5

From Detroit to Louisville through Chicago

With the (joint) smallest number of operations on the list

Southwest Airlines has only four operations from

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), with a stopover at Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW).

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

The Dallas-based carrier offers just 572 seats on this one-stop route and utilizes its Boeing 737-700 and 737-800s. A couple of other carriers offer a one-stop flight between DTW and SDF, but these airlines have a stop at Chicago’s busiest airport – the Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD).

Here are the details based on flightroutes.com:

• American Airlines

  operates the Embraer 170 and Bombardier Regional Jet. The total flight time is 4 hours 30 minutes and the layover time at ORD is 1 hour 11 minutes.

• United Airlines

  deploys its Embraer 175 and 170. The total flight time is 3 hours 48 minutes and the layover time at ORD is 46 minutes.

4

San Diego to Phoenix via Las Vegas

The highest number of operations on the list

SWA operates its Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 from

San Diego International Airport

to

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

, with a stopover at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS). Close to a million ASMs are available on this route, which is the highest ASMs on this list.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

SWA’s only competitor for a one-stop flight via LAS is Frontier Airlines, which carries its operations using its Airbus A320neo and Airbus A321. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines offer a flight on the SAN-PHX route with a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). United operates its Embraer 175s and Boeing 737-900s on this route, while Delta deploys its Embraer 175s.

3

Louisville to Cleveland via Chicago

The highest number of seats per departure

The ASMs on this route (from SDF to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) via MDW) are three times higher than the lowest ASMs on SWA’s shortest route with one stop. Chicago Midway International Airport also has the distinction of featuring twice on this list of SWA’s smallest one-stop flights.

Photo: Denver International Airport

In addition to deploying the Boeing 737-700s and Boeing 737-800s, the carrier also operates its 737 MAX 8s as it makes its way to CLE from SDF via MDW. There are three other carriers that operate the SDF-MDW route, but two of them have stopovers at ORD, while one makes a stop at DTW. Let’s take a look at the operations of these carriers:

2

Burbank to San Jose via Reno

Half a million Available Seat Miles (ASMs)

SWA’s operations from

Hollywood Burbank Airport

(BUR) to San Jose International Airport (SJC) via Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) is the first route on this list that is less than 300 miles long. SWA is the only carrier that operates a one-stop route (with the same airline) from BUR to SJC.

Photo: Stephen M. Keller, Southwest Airlines Co.

In addition to offering one-stop flights, SWA also offers direct flights on this route. In doing so, it competes with Spirit Airlines. Let’s take a look at the direct operations of these carriers from BUR to SJC.

1

Houston to Dallas via San Antonio

The least ASMs and the (joint) least seats offered

The shortest one-stop route of Southwest Airlines takes off from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) to

Dallas Love Field

(DAL) with a stopover at San Antonio International Airport (SAT). This is the only route on the list that is less than 250 miles. Like the operations DTW to SDF via MDW, SWA has four operations on its smaller one-stop route.

Southwest Airlines also has direct flights on this route. According to flightconnections.com, SWA competes with JetSuiteX (JSX) for direct flights:

• SWA operates its Boeing 737-700, 737-800, and 737 MAX 8 on direct flights from HOU to DAL. The flight time is approximately one hour.
• JSX operates its Embraer RJ145 on this route.

SWA also operates the HOU-DAL route with a stopover at

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

(AUS). Flightroutes.com reports that the layover time at AUS is 1 hour 35 minutes, while the total flight time is 3 hours 30 minutes.