Southwest Adds New Route to the Bahamas From This Major U.S. Hub

It just got easier to head to the Bahamas this summer.

On Tuesday, June 4, Southwest will launch a seasonal flight to Nassau from its major hub in Orlando. This new route, announced Monday, will operate once daily until August 4, connecting travelers from Central Florida in “the heights of the summer months.”

With the new service, the airline is adjusting its route strategy to the Bahamas. Southwest currently operates once daily, flying between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau, but this service is scheduled to end on Monday, June 3, before picking back up the next day from Orlando.

Southwest will fly a Boeing 737-700 aircraft with 143 seats on the short hop between Orlando and Nassau, clocking in at just 1.5 hours. This new flight is scheduled to depart Orlando at 11:55 a.m. and touch down in Nassau at 1:55 p.m., while the return leaves Nassau at 2:20 p.m. and arrives in Orlando at 3:55 p.m.

It's worth noting that there is already competition on the route, as JetBlue and Bahamasair operate once-daily flights between Orlando and Nassau. Southwest flies to more than 50 destinations across the U.S. and Caribbean.

The new route comes as Southwest ranked as the top airline for customer satisfaction in economy or basic economy for the third year in a row, according to JD Power's 2024 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.

In addition, Southwest has debuted a brand-new “Points + Cash” option to make booking flights even more affordable. Rapid Rewards members can now pay for flights with as little as 1,000 points to offset some of the airfare. Through tomorrow, May 15, Southwest is selling points at a 50 percent discount to allow travelers to buy a few extra points toward their next flight.