Southwest Airlines (Dallas) yesterday (March 7) inaugurated two international routes from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Each of the new routes is longer than 2,000 miles each-way and marks historic milestones for the carrier both by connecting Central America to the Southwest network of destinations and by offering its longest-ever nonstop scheduled service from any of Southwest’s Texas Triangle of original cities of Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.
Southwest Airlines now operates nonstop service between:
San Jose, Costa Rica, and Baltimore/Washington on a once daily basis, and
Aruba and Houston (Hobby) seasonally, once every Saturday through Aug. 8, 2015
At Houston’s Hobby Airport, Southwest Employees celebrated the first Aruba-bound morning departure. Later, Customers on the first inbound international flight deplaned directly into a celebration in the main domestic concourse, following their U.S. Customs and Border Protection Preclearance processed prior to departing the Caribbean island. This is the first-ever international flying offered from Houston Hobby. This October, Southwest is scheduled to complete the construction of a $156 million international terminal project which will give Houstonians and Southwest Customers from across the network access to more international destinations.
Southwest Airlines flight 602 from Baltimore/Washington to San Jose, Costa Rica, brought 143 Customers and the Company’s legendary personality and value to Central America for the first time in the 44-year history of the largest domestic carrier* in the United States. Dozens of people came to Juan Santamaria International Airport outside San Jose at the invitation of the Costa Rica Tourism Board to welcome the historic arrival in the lush country known for its natural beauty and adventure tourism.
For an in-depth review of the first arrival at Houston Hobby from Aruba, read the Airways News feature article: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Derin Allard/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7AD N798SW (msn 28436) taxies into position at Santa Ana (Orange County).
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show: 
