en.Wedoany.com Reported - Southwest Airlines is a major carrier in the U.S. civil aviation market. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), between March 2025 and February 2026, the airline carried 170 million passengers, but passenger traffic decreased by nearly 4.7 million compared to the previous 12 months, with an overall load factor (seat utilization rate) of 77.4%. Nearly one-sixth of the nation's passengers chose this airline, a proportion that rises to one-fifth in the vast domestic market. Southwest recently revealed more details about its long-haul routes and plans for domestic first-class cabins. The airline, which describes itself as a hybrid operator, has just launched the newest longest nonstop flight within the 48 contiguous U.S. states.

Using DOT data, among all domestic and international routes operated by Southwest between March 2025 and February 2026, the worst-performing route in terms of load factor was New York Islip to Miami, with only 38.0% of seats filled, carrying a total of 17,921 round-trip passengers. Cirium Diio data shows that Southwest operated this route only from November 2024 to August 2025 before ultimately discontinuing it. Previously, when Frontier Airlines operated the same route between 2017 and 2021, DOT data indicated an average one-way fare of just $30 (excluding taxes and fees) and a load factor of 61.4%, while Southwest's average fare was $175.

The routes ranked 2nd to 5th in lowest load factors all had occupancy rates below 50%, far lower than the system average of 77.4%. The Kahului Airport (OGG) to Lihue route ranked second lowest at 41.5%, a 175-nautical-mile (324 km) one-way route that Southwest has operated since 2022 and continues to operate.

Southwest's operations within Hawaii remain sluggish. The airline entered the Hawaii market in 2019, and between March 2025 and February 2026, all intra-Hawaii routes carried 1.8 million passengers, filling only 56.7% of seats. DOT data shows that compared to the previous 12 months, passenger traffic increased by 4%, while the number of seats sold decreased by 16%, boosting the overall intra-Hawaii load factor by nearly 11 percentage points, though it remains at a very low level.

The routes ranked 2nd to 5th in lowest load factors are, in order: Kahului Airport to Lihue (41.5%, 52,973 passengers), Colorado Springs to Cancun (42.9%, 1,862 passengers, discontinued in April 2026), Atlanta to Jackson (48.8%, 5,720 passengers, discontinued in April 2025), and Fresno to San Diego (49.1%, 42,364 passengers, launched in October 2025). All data sources are from the DOT.

Ranked sixth in lowest load factor is the Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport (MCO) route, at just 49.3% (67,128 round-trip passengers). This route, covering 122 nautical miles (226 km) one way, was launched in August 2025 and is almost entirely designed for passengers connecting at MCO. DOT data shows that 92.2% of passengers transferred to other flights at MCO.

The seventh lowest load factor route, Sarasota to MCO, is similar (51.4%, 64,688 passengers), also launched in August 2025. Routes following behind include OGG to Kona (51.8%, 66,447 passengers), Washington National Airport to Columbus (52.3%, 54,321 passengers), and Atlanta to Greenville/Spartanburg (52.6%, 6,793 passengers, discontinued in April 2025). Due to significant route cuts in recent years, Southwest has focused on areas where it can compete, and Atlanta is now only the 21st busiest station in the airline's network.

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