Southwest Airlines' top 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 routes from Dallas Love Field

Southwest Airlines boasts an impressive domestic network. The budget carrier, which is known for its free checked bag and flexible ticket policies, has expanded its footprint across the United States of America and beyond. In key markets across the United States, including popular leisure destinations like Orlando, Las Vegas, and Tampa, Southwest has solidified itself as a major competitor and an airline of choice for passengers.

However, some of Southwest's bases are better connected than others. The airline's busiest destinations, like Denver, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Chicago Midway, have a wide variety of domestic and international routes. However, Dallas Love Field , one of the airline's busiest destinations and hometown, is severely limited in terms of growth. This is due to a historical legal battle that pitted Southwest against Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Prior to Southwest's operational launch in June 1971, Dallas Love Field was the city of Dallas' main airport. Fort Worth had a separate air field to serve the other parts of the metropolitan area, but the two were completely separate.

However, the two cities collaborated to build Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), and laws were enacted to require all currently operating carriers to switch to the new airport. Southwest Airlines refused to move.

The airline's argument, led by lawyer Her Kelleher, explained that because competitors took Southwest to court and delayed the airline's launch, Southwest was not yet operating and, therefore, was not required to move to the new airport.

The carrier was taken to court several times over this matter, and Southwest emerged victorious each time. This was important, as the upstart's survival relied on Dallas Love Field.

Many consider Southwest to be a leisure-focused carrier, but when it started, it targeted business travelers with frequent flights and low fares between Texan cities. Business travelers clearly preferred Dallas Love Field, which is closer to downtown Dallas than DFW. Additionally, higher costs and increased direct competition at the new airport further threatened to put the carrier out of business soon after it began.

The issue of staying at Dallas Love Field was settled by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, allowing Southwest to fly beyond Texas. When the airline announced a new service from Love Field to New Orleans, competitors once again argued that Southwest should not be allowed to widen the scope of Love Field's nonstop flights.

Representative Jim Wright proposed a law known as the Wright Amendment, stating that Southwest could not fly routes from Love Field to beyond Texas, including on connecting itineraries.

The law passed, and Southwest did not try to fight it (except for some route exemptions) until after 9/11 when the short-haul flying that Southwest's Dallas network was built on continued to see lower demand as the added hassle of TSA and the public's flight anxiety pushed more people to drive long distances.

The airline launched a massive campaign to "Set Love Free," which was ultimately successful with one big caveat: the airport could not expand beyond 20 gates, and no airline could operate international services from the Texan city. According to aviation data analytics firm Cirium, Southwest's busiest MAX routes from the airport this month are mostly to key bases and nearby destinations.

10 Dallas Love Field to Las Vegas

50 Flights

Southwest's tenth-busiest flight from Dallas Love Field using the MAX is to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS). Las Vegas is another important base in the Southwest network. In fact, Sin City is the airline's second-busiest destination regarding passengers flown. In addition to having strong local demand, the carrier can connect inbound passengers to its robust west coast network from Nevada thanks to Las Vegas' position as a leisure destination.

Southwest will fly 50 flights to Las Vegas this month using the Boeing 737 MAX 8. This means the newest iteration of the Boeing jet offers 8,750 seats on the route. The MAX 8's higher capacity compared to other 737 variants in the Southwest fleet makes it ideal for city pairs in which Southwest has such a large presence.

9 Dallas Love Field to Nashville

53 Flights

Southwest's ninth-busiest Love Field service, operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 8, is to Nashville International Airport. The destination is Southwest's newest crew base, which continues to grow while its Atlanta crew base shrinks. The Music City continues to grow in importance to the low-cost carrier, so it makes sense it would be frequently connected to Southwest's hometown.

Southwest will fly its Boeing 737 MAX 8 to Nashville 53 times from Dallas this month. The carrier will offer 9,275 seats using the aircraft on the relatively short flight. Dallas and Nashville are only separated by 623 miles, but the route isn't even the shortest one on the list.

8 Dallas Love Field to San Antonio

54 Flights

Service to San Antonio International Airport is a notable route on this list, and not just because of an ongoing legal spat between Southwest and the airport. San Antonio is among one of the three original destinations for Southwest Airlines, making it a part of the iconic "Texas triangle" fundamental to Southwest's original strategy. The original destinations were:

• Dallas Love Field
• Houston Intercontinental Airport (soon switched to Houston Hobby)
• San Antonio International Airport

From Dallas to San Antonio, Southwest will deploy the MAX 54 times. The aircraft is responsible for 9,450 seats in the market, making up a significant proportion of the airline's offering on the route.

7 Dallas Love Field to New Orleans

55 Flights

New Orleans is another historically significant destination for the Southwest Airlines network. New Orleans was the first city the carrier launched after the airline industry was deregulated and Southwest had the legal permission to fly beyond Texas. New Orleans service remains to this day, and Southwest reports it has a strong position at the airport:

• Nonstop routes to 27 cities
• Maximum of 68 daily departures
• Seven gates
• 305 employees

Southwest's MAX 8 will fly to The Big Easy from Dallas with its MAX 8 55 times this month. The aircraft offers a total of 9,625 seats in February 2025 on the route, placing it as one of Love Field's busiest MAX routes.

6 Dallas Love Field to Atlanta

61 Flights

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport used to be an important base for Southwest Airlines. The carrier inherited ATL operations from AirTran, which Southwest acquired in 2011. However, despite inheriting significantly large operations, Southwest's product has declined in Atlanta over time, according to the Department of Transportation Statistics:

Though these changes seem incremental, they do not reflect financial performance, where Atlanta routes fell short. Despite this, the MAX 8 offers an impressive 10,675 seats between the two cities this month.

5 Dallas Love Field to Denver

66 Flights

Denver International Airport is Southwest Airlines' largest base, so it makes sense the carrier would deploy its highest-capacity jet heavily on the route from Dallas. Southwest has worked to build an impressive Denver operation while winning the hearts of Denver travelers by opening new cargo and maintenance facilities, partnering with several major Denver sports teams, and growing its flight schedule to offer Coloradans many choices for vacations.

Southwest offers nearly 70 flights with its 737 MAX 8, which means the aircraft type will fly 10,675 seats to the Mile High City from Dallas. Southwest has no direct competitors on the route, but United, American, and Frontier Airlines all fly to Denver from Dallas/Fort Worth.

4 Dallas Love Field to Washington National

72 Flights

Washington National is the only airport on this list that is not located close to Dallas geographically or a base for Southwest. The low-cost carrier is the second-largest operator at Reagan National Airport. Given the city's importance to both business and politics, it makes sense that the carrier offers 12,600 seats with its MAX aircraft on this route.

Southwest's Boeing 737 MAX 8 seats 175 passengers in an all-economy layout, according to SeatGuru. Even after the carrier adds extra legroom seats, the capacity of this jet will remain the same. The airline is still waiting for the smaller Boeing 737 MAX 7, which the FAA has not yet certified.

3 Dallas Love Field to Orlando

83 Flights

Orlando is another base for Southwest Airlines and a key international gateway to destinations in the Caribbean. Seeing as Americans flock to Orlando for amusement parks and warmer weather year-round, it makes sense that even in February, Southwest offers a robust schedule on the route using the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Southwest's overall Orlando operations are impressive:

• 61 nonstop routes
• Maximum of 174 daily departures
• 20 gates
• 4,146 employees

This month, 14,525 seats are available on outbound MAX flights. Southwest is currently the largest operator at Orlando International Airport , followed by Spirit Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Southwest is the only operator on this route, as it is with almost all nonstop services from Love Field.

2 Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby

85 Flights

Southwest's nonstop service to Houston Hobby is one of the carrier's original routes. However, it is worth noting that when the carrier initially started serving Houston, it did so through Houston Intercontinental Airport. However, soon after, it switched to Houston Hobby Airport, where it maintains a large presence today. Houston is also an important international gateway for the airline, offering flights to destinations like:

• Belize City, Belize
• Cancun, Mexico
• San Jose, Costa Rica

Between Dallas Love Field and Houston Hobby, Southwest will operate 85 MAX flights for a total of 14,875 available seats. The flight is a quick but popular one in the airline's network.

1 Dallas Love Field to Phoenix

96 Flights

Southwest's busiest MAX 8 route from Dallas is to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport . The destination is an important one in the Southwest network. The carrier competed fiercely against America West, US Airways, and now American Airlines to win the favor of Arizona passengers.

From Dallas, Southwest will operate 96 MAX 8 flights this month to Phoenix. The aircraft accounted for 16,800 seats in the market this February. Southwest's presence at Dallas Love Field is limited due to the airport's inability to expand beyond 20 gates, so using these higher capacity jets on this route allows Southwest to serve more customers with fewer flights.