Low-cost giant Southwest Airlines has started a new service connecting Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) in Alabama with Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Tennessee.
This is the second new service the airline has started from BHM in recent days, the other one being to Phoenix, Arizona, which began last month.
On November 3, Southwest Airlines began a new service between Birmingham, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee. According to Flightradar24, the Boeing 737-700 aircraft departed pretty much on schedule at 10:49.
However, the celebration for this inaugural flight began much earlier than the scheduled departure. The Birmingham Airport Authority invited journalists to cover the event, and the passengers of this service also received a special gate party that also involved complimentary snacks and giveaways. Furthermore, travelers were given the option to register for Southwest Airlines Gift Cards.
Operations at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport are getting busier by the month, with airlines adding more services. About a month ago, on October 3, Southwest launched a new nonstop service to Phoenix, Arizona, from BHM.
This was initially supposed to start on November 3, but the airline decided to start a month earlier. BHM previously stated that these two new routes to Nashville and Phoenix have been added to test the market.
It said, “Southwest Airlines has added nonstop flights to Phoenix and Nashville during this time to test how the market responds.”
But Southwest isn’t the only airline to add new flights to BHM in recent days. Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines also launched flights to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport from Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
This was a special occasion because it marked the carrier’s entry into the state of Alabama. Currently, the airline is the only one in the country to offer a nonstop flight on this route.
According to the Birmingham Airport Authority, the airport is experiencing a steady rise in air traffic, with the total traffic climbing 7% so far this year.
The airport saw over 3 million passengers pass through its gates in 2023, and it now serves 21 airports in 18 cities in the US.
Earlier this year, BHM also opened a new 53,000-square-foot cargo facility as part of a strategy to create a new line of business for the airport. BHM is investing in infrastructure and warehousing facility to capitalize on the cargo industry.
Southwest Airlines recently also announced an extension to its flight schedule for the summer season of 2025. Among the many flights it is adding to that schedule are redeye flights on routes such as Honolulu to Los Angeles, Sacramento to Orlando, San Francisco to Baltimore/Washington, San Jose, California to Baltimore/Washington, Seattle to Nashville, Lihue to Las Vegas, and Long Beach to Baltimore/Washington, among others.
Furthermore, the low-cost carrier will also launch Colorado Springs Municipal Airport’s (COS) first international service to Cancun, Mexico on June 7, 2025. This will be a Saturday-only seasonal service. Simple Flying has written a detailed article on this and the airline’s redeye flights.
