Starting in November, Southwest Airlines will begin flying non-stop from Long Beach Airport to Phoenix and Austin, the airline announced Thursday.
The new flight to Austin and three daily non-stop flights to Phoenix will nearly double the number of one-stop flights offered by Southwest from Long Beach.
Long Beach currently offers 16 non-stop flights, however some of the existing ones have been suspended as airlines across the country have reduced service in response to drops in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
JetBlue Airways already offers non-stop flights to Austin; American Airlines offers flights to Phoenix.
In a statement, Andrew Watterson, Soutwest’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said that the airline anticipates business travel to resume during the latter part of 2020 and Southwest wanted to expand options for whenever passengers are ready to travel.
“We’re rounding out our plan for this unprecedented year with our business travelers in mind with a fourth quarter schedule that brings them new routes across the country,” Watterson said.
The new flights are part of a larger retooling of its network which will also offer non-stop service to Nashville out of Orange County and from Ontario to Houston six days a week.
The new flights offered out of Long Beach won’t change the number of daily flight slots that Southwest holds.
Southwest has 8 permanent slots and 9 supplemental slots at the airport but recently took over 3 sports vacated by JetBlue last month, bringing the two into a tie for most daily flights offered out of Long Beach.
The addition of flights at Long Beach by Southwest comes after months of announced flight reductions and suspended service tied to the pandemic’s cratering of passenger traffic numbers.
“We are grateful that Southwest Airlines continues to invest in Long Beach Airport, especially during these challenging times,” Long Beach Airport Director Cynthia Guidry said in a statement. “With ample, relaxing outdoor space and a small-town feel, we are well-positioned as a desirable airport in the post-COVID travel world.”
The airport has been overhauling its passenger experience in the wake of social distancing measures being instituted statewide.
All persons are now required to wear face coverings while inside the airport or on any of the five airlines operating out of Long Beach. The airport has also implemented protective barriers in high traffic areas like ticketing counters and gates and installed hand sanitizer stations.
It has also worked to create a “touchless journey” for passengers which encourages the use of mobile boarding passes to drive down the number of tickets exchanged between travelers and employees and utilizing mobile payment options at its dining and retail stands.