Southwest Airlines Co.will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for new, daily nonstop service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (LAS). The carrier is seeking one of five new round-trip flights made available at DCA through the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

The new nonstop service would provide airline consumers with much-needed choices and competition on the DCA to LAS nonstop route that currently has only one flight per day operated by another airline. If awarded the route, Southwest® projects significantly lower average fares from DCA to LAS, where Southwest offers more than 260 departures a day this summer, creating convenient connecting opportunities from LAS for communities across the western United States, including Hawaii.

The airline's forthcoming application also will propose to provide the only one-stop, same-plane/no change service between DCA and Sacramento International Airport (SMF) via LAS. The direct flight between California's capital and the nation's capital would maximize the competitive and consumer benefits of the DCA route.

Southwest plans to operate the proposed service seven days a week on a Boeing 737 aircraft with 175 seats. Southwest uniquely offers every Customer a combination of up to two checked pieces of baggage for free (weight and size limitations apply) and travel funds and frequent flyer points that do not expire. In its more than 50-year history, Southwest has never charged a change fee.