Posted on: July 29, 2024, 08:44h.
Last updated on: July 29, 2024, 08:44h.
Southwest Airlines plans to operate red-eye flights from Las Vegas beginning in February 2025.
The Dallas-based budget airliner accounts for the most passengers in and out of Harry Reid International Airport, which was known as McCarran until its 2021 rebranding to honor Nevada’s late longtime U.S. Senator Harry Reid. Harry Reid International is the primary commercial airport serving Las Vegas.
Beginning Feb. 14, Southwest will offer guests in Las Vegas the option to fly back east overnight, with initial destinations scheduled for Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Orlando International Airport. Tickets are on sale now.
The red-eye flight to BWI is scheduled to take off at 10 pm PDT and arrive in Baltimore at 5:30 am EST, a roughly four-and-a-half-hour flight. The flight to Orlando departs at 10:50 pm PDT and arrives in Florida at 6:05 am EST, a four-hour and 15-minute flight.
Las Vegas Leader
Harry Reid International Airport set an annual record last year by serving 57.6 million arriving and departing passengers. Southwest accounted for nearly 20.9 million of those travelers, a 16% year-over-year increase.
Las Vegas casinos have been on a tear since the pandemic, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) set yearly records in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Nevada casinos last year won $15.5 billion.
Casinos rely on Southwest to bring its millions of guests to Southern Nevada each year. How those guests travel, however, will change in the coming months.
Along with announcing red-eye service from Las Vegas, Southwest says it will soon implement assigned seating and offer premium seats with extra legroom. The budget airline says its research found that 80% of customers and 86% of potential customers prefer an assigned seat.
Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company,” said Southwest President and CEO Bob Jordan. “Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice — at the right time — for our customers, our people, and our shareholders.”
Las Vegas is Southwest’s second-busiest airport behind Denver. Chicago, BWI, and Dallas round out the top five.
Southwest’s busiest route is Las Vegas to San Diego, followed by San Diego to Sacramento.
Red-Eye History
The term “red-eye” predates commercial air travel when it was used to describe the bloodshot eyes many train travelers sported after arriving at their destination via an overnight trip.
Red-eye flights for airlines are highly profitable, as they allow the company’s fleet to remain in service instead of sitting idle. Southwest has historically shunned red-eyes but the company says it’s prepping as many as 50 nightly red-eye flights in the coming months.
The airline’s vast changes came after the hedge fund Elliott Management, which has a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest, pressured the company to increase revenues.
Elliott in a 51-page letter to the board titled “Stronger Southwest” called on the company to oust Jordan and Board Chair Gary Kelly. The activist investor also urged the airline to charge for bags and seats.
