11/05/2020

Erlanger, Ky. (November 5, 2020) – Southwest Airlines’ inaugural flight from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) took off to Houston, Texas – William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) this morning at 7:00 AM. The new nonstop flight operates roundtrip daily*. Tickets are available at Southwest.com.

Houston is one of the top markets in the Southwest system providing access to more than 60 nonstop destinations. It is 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), Orlando (MCO), Tampa (TPA) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) on a seasonal basis from CVG.

“With new service to Houston, we’re matching service with the demand of Cincinnati travelers who are looking for easier access to more destinations including cities along the West Coast, Mexico, and the Caribbean,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “We continue seeing trends increasing for leisure destinations and we’re looking forward to welcoming more travelers onboard when they’re ready to travel with our world-class Hospitality, Customer-friendly policies, and low fares.”

“The flight to Houston Hobby is already proving to be popular,” said Candace McGraw, chief executive officer, CVG. “Houston is not only a wonderful city to visit, it provides excellent connection to more than 20 U.S. destinations including San Diego, Sacramento and Orange County, California, as well as an entry point for international travel to connect to Latin America and Caribbean destinations served by Southwest**,** including Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 50th year of service, Dallas-basedSouthwest 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.