Southwest Airlines has extended cancellations of flights on Boeing’s 737 Max through March 2020, in the latest setback for the troubled plane since two crashes that killed 346 people. 

Southwest, the largest operator of the 737 Max 8 jets, said on Friday it is now canceling flights through March 6 because of ‘continued uncertainty around the timing of Max return to service’ and added it is ‘unable to provide an update on first quarter capacity guidance at this time.’ 

Last month, Southwest had extended the grounding of all 34 737 Max jets in its fleet to February 8. 

United Airlines and American Airlines have canceled their 737 Max flights into January. 

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The airline quietly announced the news on its website: “Notice: As of Dec. 11, 2019, senior fares are no longer available for purchase. Our customers mean everything to us. We’re committed to providing friendly, reliable service and low fares with heart. You’ll still get all that with our other fare features.” Southwest added that refundable fares are still available with its “Anytime” and “Business Select” fares.

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Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines is set for another expansion of service to the Caribbean in 2020, according to the company.

Southwest will be launching new nonstop routes to Cozumel, Mexico and Turks and Caicos next spring.

That will include a new twice-daily roundtrip flight between Houston Hobby and Cozumel, with flights set to launch March 7.

“Scuba divers and beach fans long have wished to fly with us to enjoy this underwater paradise,” said Bill Tierney, Vice President of Marketing for Southwest. “We’ll bring the world-famous hospitality and value of Southwest to Cozumel while bringing a new beach destination within reach for our Customers, just as we’ve done before with service to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos and the Caribbean.” The Cozumel launch is a sign of the destination’s growing travel demand; the island off the coast of Mexico’s Riviera Maya has long been one of the Western Caribbean’s most popular cruise ports, and is now coming to its own as a stayover tourism hotspot.

On the same day, Southwest will also be launching seasonal Saturday service from Baltimore/Washington to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

Southwest first launched service to Turks and Caicos in 2017 with a route from Fort Lauderdale and Provo.

Both of the new Southwest routes have already launched reservations, according to Southwest Airlines.

The planned launches continue what have been several years of broad expansion in the wider Caribbean region, from traditional Caribbean tourism powerhouses like Montego Bay and Cancun to routes to Belize in the Western Caribbean.

After JetBlue and American Airlines set the tone in recent years with major expansions in the wider Caribbean, more and more carriers have begun to solidify their positions, too, from Spirit Airlines’ continued ramp up of flights to the region from Orlando to new routes from Sun Country Airlines.

Those have been focused on two primary airports: Houston Hobby and Fort Lauderdale; the latter has become one of the new centers of Caribbean travel from the United States market.

https://www.caribjournal.com/2019/09/27/southwest-airlines-caribbean-flights-new/

Southwest Airlines joined most of its competitors when it stopped handing out peanuts on its flights in 2018, citing allergy concerns. But people really miss the nuts, we guess, so the airline is releasing a line of peanut-related products.

The merch is available on Southwest’s online shop, the Southwest Store, which should be familiar to all the die-hard Southwest fans out there. (If anyone is a Southwest fan, please DM me.) It includes an 18 inch by 18 inch throw pillow shaped like a peanut packet ($29), a peanut pouch to store “makeup and accessories ($9),” a peanut burp cloth for your baby who can’t eat peanuts yet ($9), and a peanut power bank to charge your phone ($19).

The main event is a tin lunchbox ($29) containing two 10-ounce bags of the peanuts themselves: one honey roasted and one lightly salted.

Unfortunately, logging on to an airline’s online shop is the only way to eat Southwest peanuts anytime soon. Even though Southwest made peanuts *the* quintessential plane snack in the 1970s, when it started serving them instead of meals in the name of cost-efficiency, it looks like it’ll be dusty in-flight pretzels from here on out. 

Get your large overpriced peanut tin while you can, folks.

https://mashable.com/article/southwest-brings-back-peanuts/

Southwest Airlines is having a one-day nationwide non-stop, Independence YAY Sale where one-way flights start from $49. Southwest’s fares include two carryon, two checked baggages, no change or cancellation fees. No seat assignment.
Blackout dates apply. Nonrefundable. Seats and days are limited. Fares valid on nonstop service where indicated; if not indicated, fares are valid on single connect service. Continental U.S. and Interisland Hawaii travel valid 9/3/19 – 12/18/19. Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico valid 9/4/19 – 12/5/19. International travel valid 9/3/19 – 12/11/19. Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight.

https://slickdeals.net/f/13195738-southwest-airlines-independence-yay-sale-one-way-flights-from-49-book-by-tonight

Southwest Airlines launched an absolutely massive three-day sale on Tuesday for late summer and fall travel. How massive? How about this: You could score domestic fares starting as low as $49 one-way to select destinations.

From Tuesday, June 4 through Friday, June 6 at 11:59 p.m. pacific time, would-be travelers could score tickets across the nation for absolute dirt cheap prices. Example fares include $49 one-way nonstop flights between Phoenix and Las Vegas, as well as one-way nonstop between Atlanta and Nashville for the same price.

Flyers can also find $79 one-way nonstop tickets on Southwest between Portland, OR and San Diego, and one-way nonstop flights at the same price between Kansas City and San Antonio.

For just $99 one-way passengers can also get nonstop tickets between Dallas (Love Field) and San Jose, California and one-way nonstop flights between Washington D.C. (Regan National) and New Orleans.

And, for just $129 one-way, travelers can grab nonstop tickets between Houston (Hobby) and Oakland and one-way nonstop between Boston and St. Louis.

The sale does come with a few restrictions and rules. For example, seats and days are limited and blackout dates apply.

Other rules state that travel must take place in the continental U.S. from Aug. 20 through Dec. 18, 2019. Interisland Hawaii travel is valid from Sept. 3 through Nov. 2, 2019, and travel to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico is valid Sept. 4 through Dec. 5, 2019.

Fares may also vary by destination, flight, and day of the week and won’t be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure.

To see the full list of available cities and prices, and to book your tickets for the sale, visit Southwest.com.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/flight-deals/southwest-airlines-announces-summer-sale-cheap-flight-tickets

Two months ago, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) finally began flying to Hawaii, nearly a year and a half after publicly announcing its intention to serve the popular vacation destination. That said, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, which accounts for nearly 5% of Southwest’s fleet, has limited the carrier’s ability to grow in Hawaii so far.

Nevertheless, Southwest Airlines remains committed to becoming an even bigger player in Hawaii once its 737 MAX fleet gets back in the air. In fact, last weekend, the airline announced that it plans to add Hilo to its route network in the near future. That would give the popular discount airline five destinations within Hawaii eventually, up from its previous plan of four.

When Southwest Airlines first decided to fly to Hawaii, it was mainly contemplating flights from some of its biggest West Coast markets (Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose) to the top four tourist destinations in Hawaii (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Lihue).

However, the carrier later decided to enter the interisland market as well. Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ:HA) has dominated interisland travel in recent years, and Southwest’s management saw an opportunity to stimulate demand with lower fares. Southwest Airlines began flying four daily round trips between Honolulu and Kahului late last month, and it added four daily round trips between Honolulu and Kona on May 12.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/05/19/southwest-airlines-expands-its-hawaii-plans.aspx

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today announced it has donated 10,000 roundtrip tickets to 76 hospitals and medical transportation charities located throughout North America as part of the airline’s annual Medical Transportation Grant Program. This year, the airline is supporting organizations across 25 states and in 40 cities. Throughout the year, hospitals and medical charities are able to use these tickets to alleviate travel costs for patients receiving critical medical treatments.

“We are proud to provide a critical lifeline for patients and caregivers as they travel to receive or give life-saving care,” said Laurie Barnett, Southwest Airlines’ Managing Director of Communications and Outreach. “By providing complementary air travel, we’re able to make life a little bit easier for families in trying times in their lives.”

Since the program’s inception in 2007, Southwest has donated nearly $32 million in transportation to support more than 79,000 patients and caregivers. To learn more about the impact this program makes in communities across North America, visit this link. And, to view the full list of participating hospitals and charitable organizations for 2019, visit Southwest.com/medicalgrant. 

https://www.swamedia.com/releases/release-10839baa4e64d97bb77a864c0b19d117-southwest-airlines-provides-essential-medical-transportation-grants

Looking for a getaway on the cheap? U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines always has reasonable fares and often runs discounted flight sales and promo code sales.

Latest Southwest Airlines Deals

*These prices were valid as of April 16, 2019, and may not always be available. Bookmark this page – we’ll be updating it regularly!

Southwest Airlines Sale Details and When to Book

• Book by April 18, 2019, 11:59 p.m. (PST).
• International travel valid August 20 through October 31, 2019.
• International travel is valid Monday – Thursday.
  • Travel to Mexico is valid only on Sundays through Wednesdays.
  • Travel from Mexico is valid only on Tuesdays through Fridays.

Southwest Promo Codes

Quick Facts on Southwest Promo Codes

• Promo codes are online coupons that work like in-store coupons as long as they are active
• Southwest offers promo codes to help customers save money online
• Promo codes reward customers for their loyalty and may appear in emails and newsletters
• Southwest Airline promo codes can be found online or by asking travel agents if any promo codes for Southwest are available
• Knowing how to access promo codes and discounts will help you save time and money

Most people plan a trip for business or leisure with a certain budget in mind or try to cut costs while still enjoying the trip. Luckily, there are ways to save on almost all aspects of your trip, starting with getting a discount on plane tickets. At checkout in most online transactions, you’ll often see a box where you can input a promo code. Rather than skipping right over this box and paying the full price, you can enter a promo code and save money on your flight on Southwest Airlines.

https://www.skyscanner.com/tips-and-inspiration/southwest-airlines-promo-codes

Southwest Airlines stock has been knocked down by a number of headwinds this year. But the company still has a high profit margin and plenty of room to grow. It could even be an acquisition target for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) has cut its guidance twice in the last two months, but the airline achieved a record adjusted profit and record free cash flow in 2018. The company has also affirmed that demand trends for the second quarter look strong, pointing to the potential for a quick return to profit growth.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines stock trades for just 10 times free cash flow: a remarkably low valuation for a company that consistently posts strong margins while growing steadily.

So it’s no wonder that Warren Buffett has invested in Southwest Airlines. And recent rumors suggest that Buffett sees Southwest as a possible acquisition target for Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B). Industry Focus: Energy host Nick Sciple and guest Adam Levine-Weinberg review the case for owning Southwest Airlines stock and assess the likelihood of a takeover by Berkshire Hathaway.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/04/08/is-southwest-airlines-stock-a-buy-warren-buffett-t.aspx