What Are the Major Southwest Hubs?
Southwest Airlines does not use the traditional “hub and spoke” system used by other airlines but instead has “point-to-point” operations where passengers travel directly to their destinations. However, Southwest does have major operations in the following cities: Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando and Phoenix.
On average, 80 percent of Southwest’s passengers are local passengers, with only 20 percent being connecting passengers. However, in the previously mentioned focus cities, connecting passengers can reach up to 30 percent. Still, these figures are much lower than most other airlines. Prior to 2014, Southwest did not fly internationally, but as of July 1, 2014, flights to Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas are available.
