New Routes from Southwest, JetBlue

Southwest and JetBlue announced a slew of new routes coming later this year.

For Southwest, the new service centers on Phoenix. The carrier will add two daily nonstop flights between Sky Harbor Airport and Minneapolis, and one daily nonstop to Boston. Minneapolis service starts at an introductory price of $99 each way, and begins August 15. Southwest hasn’t announced fares for the Boston route, which debuts September 7.

Both Boston and Minneapolis joined Southwest’s route network in 2009, and the airline has grown service quickly at each. With the addition of Phoenix service in Boston, the airline will have doubled its presence there since launching flights in August.

For its part, JetBlue will begin brand new service at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The airline plans to launch seven daily nonstops to Boston, and one daily nonstop each to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando. Tickets are already on sale, with fares starting at $39 to Boston, $59 to Orlando, and $69 to Ft. Lauderdale.

The airline boasts that “everyday low fares for JetBlue’s DCA-Boston flights will be up to 73 percent lower than pre-JetBlue fares.”

Leave a comment below and tell us where you think JetBlue and Southwest should fly next.