Southwest Airlines plans to begin nonstop services to Chicago (Midway) and Baltimore/Washington (BWI) from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport (CVG) on June 4, broadening travellers’ choices in a market that Delta Air Lines has long dominated.

The airline also announced that it will add a new nonstop flight between Cleveland and Atlanta and a second daily nonstop between Cleveland and St. Louis. The Cincinnati and Cleveland flights come at the expense of two other Ohio airports, however Southwest said it will end its services to Akron-Canton and Dayton.

Cincinnati once served as a primary service hub for Delta Air Lines, as reported by USA Today, but Delta has cut hundreds of flights at the airport since merging with Northwest Airlines in 2008. In the years since, both Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air have added flights in Cleveland.

Other Southwest nonstop services slated to commence on June 4 include:

  • Indianapolis, Indiana and Newark, New Jersey (which serves the New York metropolitan area)
  • Nashville, Tennessee and Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California
  • San Jose, California and Reno, Nevada
  • San Diego, California and Boise, Idaho
  • San Diego and Salt Lake City, Utah
  • San Diego and Newark, Spokane, Washington, and Indianapolis, Indiana (seasonal flights)
  • Oakland, California and Newark (seasonal flights)

Southwest also announced its intention to fly between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Grand Cayman in the Caribbean on June 4, when it will begin operations at its new international concourse at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport. Southwest flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica, Cancun, Mexico and Belize will commence the same day from the new Concourse A in Terminal 1.

Southwest is the largest domestic airline in the United States.

southwest.com