US-headquartered Southwest Airlines has announced new routes, adding a third new destination for 2026, St Maarten in the Caribbean, as it adds more routes in the next year. It has also announced a new partnership with Evergreen Group subsidiary EVA Air to jointly operate routes between North America and Asia.
Southwest to introduce flights to St. Maarten in the Caribbean
The airline has announced that it will be introducing a new service to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) from April 7, 2026. The international route is currently subject to approval. Once operational, the island of St. Maarten will be Southwest’s first new international destination since 2021. The island is made up of two parts. The first part is a constituent country belonging to the Netherlands called Sint Maarten. The second part is Saint-Martin, a French overseas collectivity.
The American airline will introduce flights between St. Maarten (SXM) and Orlando (MCO) beginning on April 7, 2026. It will eventually expand the schedule two days later to include St. Maarten and Baltimore/Washington (BWI) route for peak-schedule service on Saturdays and Sundays.
The airline, in a press release, said that the new nonstop routes will allow for round-trip connections for over 45 airports across the United States.
New partnership with EVA Air
Southwest Airlines has also announced a new partnership with Evergreen Group subsidiary EVA Air. The two airlines will jointly operate routes between North America and Asia. These routes will connect through the airlines’ shared gateway airports in Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), and Chicago (O’Hare). Southwest Airlines, in a press release, said:
“EVA becomes the third airline partner announced by Southwest. Interline journeys that pair Southwest-operated service over North America with connecting transpacific flights operated by EVA Air are now available for sale through EVA Air booking channels and third-party travel sites.”
EVA Air operates 89 weekly routes between Taipei and New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Houston in the United States and Vancouver and Toronto in Canada.
New local and seasonal routes
The airline has also introduced new routes within the United States. It will operate a new service at Knoxville, Tennessee, with additional nonstop service between Denver and Knoxville. The Denver Knoxville route will be seasonally operational on Saturdays and Sundays starting April 9, 2026.
The airline has also introduced another seasonal route between Chicago and Florida. The flight between Chicago O’Hare and Panama City, Florida, will operate on Saturdays beginning April 9, 2026.
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