Southwest bidding for Vegas route to convenient Washington airport

Within weeks, Southwest Airlines hopes to find out whether the U.S. Department of Transportation will grant it a new daily nonstop round-trip route between Harry Reid International Airport and heavily restricted Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C.

The Dallas-based commercial air carrier — the busiest at Reid — has applied for one of five new routes to the Washington airport, and Southwest and a contingent of Las Vegas supporters are lobbying Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to grant a route to Southwest.

The prospect for a new route was granted when lawmakers approved the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

Reagan National is restricted by a 1,250-mile perimeter rule that limits the number of flights to the airport from beyond that distance. There are 40 flights that have exemptions to the rule and the new reauthorization adds five round trips to that total.

Currently, only American Airlines offers daily nonstop round trips between Reid and Reagan National. Southwest officials say they’ll be able to offer flights at lower fares than legacy air carriers.

Reagan National Airport is appealing to airline passengers because of its close proximity to the Capitol.

“We’re very excited to have seen the opportunity for beyond-perimeter slot exemptions,” said Steve Sisneros, vice president of airport affairs for Southwest.

“Southwest, going through our large commercial partners, thought Vegas was the best opportunity to pursue that. And so that’s the application that we’ve submitted and we’re absolutely convinced that Vegas provides the best public benefit for the slot exemption for a variety of reasons, but primarily from an economic standpoint. It will save consumers a significant amount of money, but also we think Vegas is the most deserving market. And I think the statistics show that it is underserved by over 100,000 customers a year.”

Meanwhile, Clark County Aviation Director Rosemary Vassiliadis is drumming up support by asking local stakeholders to encourage Buttigieg to select the Southwest option in a highly competitive race to serve Reagan National.

Stiff competition

When Southwest first announced its intentions to bid for the route in May, competition for the slots came from American Airlines, which is submitting an application to fly to Reagan National from San Antonio, Texas, and Alaska Airlines, which has proposed nonstop flights to Washington from San Diego.

Since then, Delta Air Lines announced plans for a route between Seattle and Washington D.C., and JetBlue Airways is bidding to connect Reagan National with San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Southwest would use its largest aircraft, a twin-engine Boeing 737-800 jet capable of carrying 175 passengers, on the route if approved.

Vassiliadis said she has received support from the Clark County Commission, state, federal and local office holders, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, numerous chambers of commerce and union leadership.

She said there’s also support from Northern Nevada, which would like to see the route so that one-stop flights from Reno could be established.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.