WHY IT RATES: Travel agents working with clients on travel for next year will be excited to learn of the revealed spring 2019 schedule and the added routes.—Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.

Southwest Airlines Co. announced the beginning of its spring 2019 schedule and the addition of new international routes from key U.S. gateway cities. The carrier extended its bookable flight schedule through April 7, 2019, and flights are available to be booked today at Southwest.com.

More International Service

Beginning Saturday, March 9, 2019, the carrier will add new and returning seasonal flights on Saturdays between:

—St. Louis and Montego Bay, Jamaica*

—St. Louis and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic*

—Milwaukee and Cancun

—Pittsburgh and Cancun

—Raleigh-Durham and Cancun

—San Antonio and Cancun

—Baltimore/Washington and Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos

*Subject to government approvals

New Nonstop Routes throughout the United States

Southwest also announced the beginning of new seasonal service on Saturdays effective March 9, 2019, between:

—Cleveland and Tampa

—Cincinnati and Orlando

On Sunday, March 10, 2019, the carrier will begin weekly service on Sundays between:

—Dallas and West Palm Beach, Fla. Dallas and Harlingen, Tex.

—Houston and Lubbock

In its 48th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary customer service delivered by more than 57,000 employees to a customer base topping 120 million passengers annually, in recent years.

Southwest became the nation’s largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. During peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000-weekday departures among a network of 99 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. Southwest has announced its intention to sell tickets in 2018 for service to Hawaii, subject to requisite governmental approvals.

For more information, reach out to your local travel agent.

SOURCE: Southwest Airlines press release.