Southwest will add more direct flights at Milwaukee airport; here's where they are going

Beck Andrew Salgado, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read
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A Southwest Airlines plane takes off at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Photo by Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A Southwest Airlines plane takes off at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Photo by Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After a turbulent few years at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, Southwest Airlines is hoping to bounce back with more flights.

The airline announced it will add a handful of new daily nonstop flights to and from Mitchell to accommodate the travel season and in an attempt to build back market share after losing ground to other carriers in 2022.

Here’s what you need to know about the new flights.

Southwest is adding more flights and more routes

The nine daily round trips that Southwest Airlines will be adding this summer and fall are:

  • May 7: Adding additional daily roundtrips to and from Baltimore, Las Vegas and Nashville

  • July 11: Daily nonstop flights between Milwaukee and Kansas City will resume

  • Throughout the summer and fall, Southwest will add daily flight frequencies to the existing destinations of Atlanta, Denver, Fort Myers, Orlando and St. Louis.

In addition, Southwest is bringing back seasonal spring service to Sarasota and Cancun, Mexico:

  • Daily flights to Sarasota are available through April 10

  • Saturday-only seasonal flights to Cancun, Mexico, are available through April 8

“As MKE’s largest carrier, it’s great to see that Southwest continues to restore routes that were reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. These restorations include a mix of business and leisure destinations that see strong travel demand from Milwaukee,” said Airport Director Brian Dranzik.

Southwest's existing 16 nonstop destinations from Milwaukee are:

  • Atlanta

  • Baltimore

  • Dallas

  • Denver

  • Fort Lauderdale

  • Fort Myers

  • Kansas City

  • Las Vegas

  • Nashville

  • Orlando

  • Phoenix

  • St. Louis

  • Tampa

  • Washington, DC

Hoping to bounce back after a hectic 2022

While Southwest remains the most popular airline at Mitchell, the airline's grip at the airport loosened slightly in 2022 as Southwest’s share of the Milwaukee market fell from 41% to 36% last year.

Some of this can be attributed to a disastrous performance during the 2022 holiday season when Southwest was forced to delay or cancel numerous flights after a system meltdown that exposed flaws in the company’s plane tracking system.

While a short-term hit can be attributed to that debacle, Southwest's numbers also fell because of an increase in competition at Mitchell last year.

Competition at Milwaukee’s airport is continuing to increase

Various airlines added new flight services from Milwaukee last year, giving flyers competing options.

This included gains from Delta, the second most popular airline in Milwaukee, which added service to the East Coast resulting in its share of the Milwaukee market rising 3 percentage points — Delta now accounts for almost a fourth of all service at Mitchell.

The number of passengers flying Spirit Airlines in Milwaukee, a notable option for less expensive travel much like Southwest, doubled from 2021 to 2022, and the airline's market share grew to nearly 6% — despite the airline announcing it would suspend direct flights to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tampa Bay.

Other competing airlines include Jet Blue, which debuted at Mitchell in 2022 and accounted for 2% of the Milwaukee market in its first year.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Southwest adding more daily flights at Milwaukee airport; here's where