09/30/2020

Erlanger, Ky. (September 30, 2020) – Southwest Airlines has announced new nonstop service between Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and Houston, Texas – William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). The new flight will operate roundtrip daily beginning November 5, 2020*. Tickets are available now at Southwest.com.

Houston is one of the top markets in the Southwest system providing access to more than 60 nonstop destinations. It becomes the fourth nonstop destination served year-round by Southwest from CVG, which includes Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Chicago Midway (MDW) and Denver (DEN). Southwest also serves Phoenix (PHX) and Orlando (MCO) on a seasonal basis from CVG.

“Our operation at William P. Hobby Airport is just eleven miles from downtown Houston and near the City’s medical and shopping districts,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer. “We also serve more than sixty cities nonstop from Houston and are pleased to give CVG travelers quicker access to more of our route map.”

“We have a wonderful partnership with Southwest, and are pleased they continue to expand the number of nonstop destinations from CVG,” said Candace McGraw, chief executive officer, CVG. “Houston is a popular destination**,** and it will provide an excellent entry point for international travel to connect to Latin America and Caribbean destinations served by Southwest**,** including Cancun.

The planned initial schedule is:

*Schedules will vary across November and December 2020.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 50th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service to a Customer base topping 130 million passengers in 2019. Southwest became the nation’s largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. In early 2020, the carrier added service to Hilo, Hawaii, and Cozumel, Mexico. Southwest will begin service to Steamboat Springs, Colo. on Dec. 19, 2020, and also recently announced its intention to serve Palm Springs, Calif. and Miami, Fla.

The carrier issued its Southwest® Promise in May 2020 to highlight new and round-the-clock efforts to support its Customers and Employees wellbeing and comfort. Among the changes are enhanced cleaning efforts at airports and onboard aircraft, face covering requirements for Customers and Employees, and capping the number of passengers on every flight to allow middle seats to remain open through Nov. 30, 2020. Additional details about the Southwest Promise are available at Southwest.com/Promise.

Southwest coined Transfarency® to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free® to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances). Southwest does not charge change fees, though fare differences might apply.