Late every evening, scores of flights take off from U.S. West Coast airports, touchdown on the East Coast early the next morning. Many extra jets make late-night departures to fly in a single day from Hawaii and Alaska to the U.S. mainland, and from the U.S. to far-flung cities abroad — together with the overwhelming majority of planes headed to Europe.
In actual fact, “red-eye flights” — aptly named for the fatigue they encourage — are a ubiquitous a part of the each day flying schedule for a lot of the giant U.S. airways.
A obvious exception: Southwest Airways, the nation’s fourth-largest service, which, for its first five-plus a long time of flying, did not function in a single day flights.
That’s, till Thursday evening.
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Southwest’s first red-eyes
Inside Terminal 1 at Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, balloons, decorations and blaring music livened the late-night ambiance. It was the kind of celebration you’d anticipate for an inaugural flight, when an airline launches service to an thrilling new vacation spot.
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On this case, although, the pomp and circumstance preceded two oft-flown transcontinental routes — and two late-night departures that will be routine at any of Southwest’s high rivals.
However for the Dallas-based service, Thursday evening’s red-eyes to Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) — together with three extra departing from different western U.S. airports that very same evening — marked a major milestone, and the launch of a brand new technique the airline hopes will assist enhance its backside line.
A brand new technique
After years of hypothesis, Southwest executives first announced the carrier’s red-eye plans final summer season as half of a bigger push to show round current years’ lackluster monetary outcomes — a shift that additionally revealed the service’s plans to ditch its longstanding open-seating policy.
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Southwest’s aim: develop its flying (and earnings) by making higher use of the jets it already has in its fleet. In any case, planes do not earn money sitting on the bottom — a giant purpose the opposite airways have lengthy saved planes within the air by the evening.
Making Southwest red-eyes possible required a major overhaul of its long-criticized tech infrastructure over the past couple of years.
However on Thursday evening, its first 5 in a single day routes launched — beginning in Vegas.
A late-night celebration
Passengers, by and enormous, confirmed up with out even realizing there was historic significance to Thursday evening’s flights.
“I used to be truly very shocked that they did not do any red-eyes ever,” George Porter, a passenger on the LAS-BWI route, informed TPG.
“Gave us somewhat motivation,” Nicole Owens added forward of what was more likely to be a brief evening’s sleep on her method residence to Maryland.
In true Vegas spirit, Southwest prospects with a seat on the BWI and Orlando red-eyes lined as much as spin a wheel, with prizes consisting of varied airline-branded giveaways like baggage tags and water bottles.
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The service additionally gave out eye masks — a staple of different carriers’ amenity kits, however a novelty for an airline that is by no means flown in a single day.
Within the background: becoming tunes, from Lionel Richie’s “All Evening Lengthy (All Evening)” to Dua Lipa’s extra up to date “Dance the Evening.”
A rising red-eye schedule
It wasn’t simply Vegas crewmembers and passengers burning the midnight oil; Southwest also launched transcontinental red-eyes Thursday from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) and Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport (PHX) to BWI.
It additionally flew in a single day from LAX to Nashville Worldwide Airport (BNA).
More are coming: By summer season, the service expects to have 33 nightly flights — together with a number of departing Hawaii airports in Honolulu, Kona and Maui, which the service believes can be a boon each for its operations and for passengers planning a visit to the Aloha State.
“Now, people in Hawaii can keep there longer, take a late-night flight, join, and make it residence in a day,” Steve Christl, Southwest’s vp of operations and design, mentioned in Vegas on Thursday evening. “It is good for them. It is nice for Southwest.”
All aboard the primary in a single day flight
In an indication of that pleasure, the service rolled out a mini pink carpet for passengers who boarded the Boeing 737-800 to seek for their first-come, first-served seats.
“It is open seating right here at Southwest: Chances are you’ll sit wherever you need,” a flight attendant mentioned in an announcement that now carries added nostalgia, with the airline’s hallmark seating coverage in its closing stretch.
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Flight 1652 pushed again at 10:19 p.m., 19 minutes late following a day of unusually vital climate disruptions in Vegas.
Mom Nature was equally pesky throughout what proved to be a extremely turbulent three-hour, 50-minute flight that touched down at BWI at 5:19 a.m., arriving on the gate 5 minutes forward of schedule.
Deplaning into a brand new daybreak for Southwest
At BWI, the Southwest floor workers provided a boisterous welcome and lightweight breakfast through the still-predawn hours of Friday morning.
In the meantime, further celebratory decor on the airport concourse marked one other milestone this week — the launch of Southwest’s new partnership with Icelandair.
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Southwest’s already strong Maryland base will see extra of those early-morning landings from red-eye flights than another airport because the service grows its in a single day schedule over the subsequent few months.
And it is doubtless extra Southwest airports may be a part of its nighttime community in 2026, a number of executives have informed me.
“As we proceed to see what the demand is there, and the capabilities inside Southwest, we’ll have a look at allocating extra towards red-eye flying,” Christl mentioned Thursday.
So, hold on to that eye masks, lock in that late checkout at your resort — and have your subsequent morning’s espresso order able to go.
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