Several days ago, Southwest Airlines announced plans to launch service to a new state, and I don’t think this should come as a huge surprise to anyone. I want to provide an update, as flights are now on sale, meaning that schedules have also been published, so we have more details.
In this post:
Southwest adding Anchorage flights as of May 2026
Southwest will start flying to Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) as of the spring of 2026. Specifically, as of May 15, 2026, the airline will launch daily flights to Alaska out of both Denver (DEN) and Las Vegas (LAS). The flights will operate with the below schedules, and both will be operated by Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
WN1775/3094 Denver to Anchorage departing 5:45PM arriving 9:25PM
WN198 Anchorage to Denver departing 10:25PM arriving 5:30AM (+1 day)
The 2,404-mile flight is blocked at 5hr40min westbound and 5hr5min eastbound.
WN915/3101 Las Vegas to Anchorage departing 6:20PM arriving 10:55PM
WN199 Anchorage to Las Vegas departing 11:55PM arriving 6:05AM (+1 day)
The 2,304-mile flight is blocked at 5hr35min westbound and 5hr10min eastbound.
It remains to be seen if the routes will be seasonal or year-round (flights are currently on sale through August 3, 2026). I suspect they’ll be seasonal, but that hasn’t been officially announced. For an airline of its size, Southwest has very few seasonal destinations, so that would be kind of noteworthy in and of itself.
Here’s how Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s Chief Operating Officer, describes this:
“We’re adding destinations that once seemed inconceivable for Southwest in order to build a route network that creates new experiences and more possibilities than ever before. We look forward to connecting our Customers to the rich history and culture of Anchorage and connecting the 49th state to our vast domestic network.”
Anchorage is the fifth new destination that Southwest has announced so far in 2025, and it will expand the carrier’s network to 122 airports. Alaska will become the 43rd state in Southwest’s domestic network, and Southwest already flies more customers nonstop within the United States than any other airline (admittedly that’s an interesting qualifier).
I can’t imagine this will be that lucrative, but it’s overdue
We’ve seen Southwest undergo radical changes in recent times, in just about every area. It’s not the “old Southwest” anymore, for better or worse. I think the more controversial changes are things like Southwest now charging for checked bags, and moving its seating policy more in line with that of other airlines.
That being said, Southwest is also finally getting out of its stubborn network planning habits. For so long, Southwest was so resistant to any sort of change, with everything ranging from not operating redeye flights, so not expanding into new markets.
As Southwest tries to increasingly compete with all the other airlines, one aspect of that is clear — the airline wants to provide service to as many destinations as possible, especially as part of an overall play to also make its Rapid Rewards loyalty program more lucrative. Keep in mind that as Southwest built up its huge Hawaii network several years back, one of the main motivators was increasing engagement in Rapid Rewards.
I can’t imagine these Anchorage flights will be that lucrative for the airline — they’re pretty long sectors, and there’s a lot of seasonal competition. That being said, Alaska is an important leisure destination in summer, and Southwest doesn’t want to lose customers to competitors who want to visit the 49th state.
For that matter, the whole way we frame what a “lucrative” route is has certainly changed over the years. Even at profitable airlines, most routes aren’t actually directly profitable, if you’re comparing cost per available seat mile to passenger revenue per available seat mile. It’s all part of the bigger play for loyalty.
Bottom line
In May 2026, Southwest Airlines will launch flights to Anchorage out of Denver and Las Vegas. This will be the carrier’s first time flying to Alaska, and it seems like a pretty sensible expansion. For so long, Southwest was so set in its ways and opposed to adding new markets. But with all the changes we’re seeing at Southwest, that’s no longer the case.
Ultimately Alaska is a popular destination in summer that some Rapid Rewards members will surely want to travel to, so the airline feels it needs to fly there to compete. It’s hardly the biggest change we’re seeing at Southwest, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
What do you make of Southwest launching Anchorage flights?
I travel to Alaska regularly from Denver and I can't imagine putting up with Southwest's lack of first class and premium seating, and with no food options, on a flight of that length. (Yes, I know they added extra legroom fake "premium" seating, but it's still an inferior product.)
But one-time vacation travelers probably won't care about any of that. Southwest is business-friendly enough for short-haul flights, and this will give frequent fliers in...
I travel to Alaska regularly from Denver and I can't imagine putting up with Southwest's lack of first class and premium seating, and with no food options, on a flight of that length. (Yes, I know they added extra legroom fake "premium" seating, but it's still an inferior product.)
But one-time vacation travelers probably won't care about any of that. Southwest is business-friendly enough for short-haul flights, and this will give frequent fliers in Rapid Rewards a vacation destination.
Southwest isn't the least comfortable carrier out there, but with no food options and limited drinks, it's not how I'd prefer to do a red-eye or even just the 6 hour flight in the first place (I've done their handful of past trans-con routes - not recommended).
Interesting option tho for people who work in AK, so they don't have to travel to the west coast first for the more common routings.
ANC has been on WN's radar since the early 2010s. This isn't surprising. They've long had aspirations to stretch their fleet and expand to more international and longer-haul domestic markets. With the scope clause improvements for their flight crews, this is all being made possible. Sadly the Hawaii experiment has been a disaster. But what did you expect from Andrew who put HA into the disaster that they were and then tried to do a...
ANC has been on WN's radar since the early 2010s. This isn't surprising. They've long had aspirations to stretch their fleet and expand to more international and longer-haul domestic markets. With the scope clause improvements for their flight crews, this is all being made possible. Sadly the Hawaii experiment has been a disaster. But what did you expect from Andrew who put HA into the disaster that they were and then tried to do a repeat at WN?!? Shame that WN has kept him around so long when it's clear he's a major part of their problem.
I don’t do red eyes on short eastbound domestic flights and I live on the west coast. For those who don’t mind these stipulations, good on them. I’ll stick with whatever blandly named mileage program AS calls it.
How has Southwest been doing recently in Hawaii? Last I heard it was a huge money pit
Hawaii didn't work as proposed because WN went in w/ the intention to take out HA -and they partially succeeded. While WN's Hawaii strategies hurt WN as well, WN survived.
and let's not forget that intra- Hawaii and lack of redeyes made Hawaii a challenge for WN.
They have scaled back intra-Hawaii and have added redeyes which puts them on a much more equal footing as other carriers serving Hawaii to mainland.
The...
Hawaii didn't work as proposed because WN went in w/ the intention to take out HA -and they partially succeeded. While WN's Hawaii strategies hurt WN as well, WN survived.
and let's not forget that intra- Hawaii and lack of redeyes made Hawaii a challenge for WN.
They have scaled back intra-Hawaii and have added redeyes which puts them on a much more equal footing as other carriers serving Hawaii to mainland.
The same principles will apply to Alaska.
WN should do just fine there.
As an A-List and Companion Pass member: I cannot imagine spending this amount of time on an overnight flight on Southwest, and have no desire to purchase the product. I've flown cross-country on daytime flights with them more times than I can count over the years, but a red-eye to Alaska is a bridge too far. I'd much rather fly with Delta or Alaska on a distance that great and also avoid a red-eye on the return, even if it meant an overnight layover in Seattle.
Most existing flights from Alaska to continental US are red eyes.
No big deal. Southwest now can fly red eyes so this makes sense. Also ANC is no big deal. On the map, it looks dramatic but not much different from WN expanding to another US city. Maybe a little colder but ANC is not that cold. Fairbanks is really cold and may present a few operational challenges in the winter.
(Crickets chirping . . . slowly.)