During the second quarter of 2024, Southwest Airlines will open a new pilot and cabin crew base at Nashville International Airport, the 12th crew base in their system. The new base will start with 150-250 pilots, growing to 500-600, and around 500-700 cabin crew.
On Monday (August 14, 2023), Southwest Airlines announced that they will open a new pilot and cabin crew base at Nashville International Airport (BNA) during the second quarter of 2024. Nashville will become the 12th crew base in the Southwest® system and will start with 150-250 pilots, growing to 500-600, and around 500-700 cabin crew members. Southwest has served Nashville since 1986, starting with eight daily nonstop departures to Chicago Midway (MDW) and Houston Hobby (HOU). Since that time, Southwest has become BNA’s largest carrier, offering up to 166 daily departures to 57 cities, and supporting nearly 1,000 team members. During the fourth quarter of 2023, the carrier will add four gates in Nashville, expanding their footprint to 20 gates.
In Monday’s announcement, Southwest Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Watterson, said,
“Hundreds of Southwest Employees who work in the air and on the ground already consider their hometown to be in Middle Tennessee, with our presence in Nashville remaining a key factor to our success, future growth, and the Reliability of our network. Given our love for Nashville and the critical importance it plays in our network, it's a natural choice to make further investments by adding a Crew Base and doubling down on our commitment to Music City.”
Also commenting on Southwest’s new Nashville crew base, Tennessee Governor, Bill Lee, added,
“As a top global travel destination and business hub, Tennessee is the ideal location for Southwest Airlines’ newest Crew Base, and we look forward to the continued economic investment, job creation for newly based jobs, and opportunity this expansion will bring for Tennesseans across the region. We're honored Southwest, a leading American company serving millions of travelers each year, will be expanding its reach to the Volunteer State.”
Southwest also launched service to Memphis International Airport on November 3, 2013, and currently offers up to 14 daily nonstop departures to 10 cities.
Founded in 1971, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) has distinguished itself by offering exemplary customer service delivered by more than 71,000 team members at 121 airports across 11 countries. The airline carried over 126 million guests during 2022. Southwest offers a robust point-to-point network with a strong presence across leisure and business markets. During peak travel seasons, the airline operates more than 4,000 daily departures to 120 destinations across the U.S. and 10 additional countries. Southwest also continues to develop tangible steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering Customers the opportunity to help the airline offset carbon emissions.
Source: Southwest Airlines