Southwest Airlines will soon offer Long Beach travelers a daily route to Missouri’s Kansas City International Airport.
The airline will launch daily nonstop flights from the Long Beach Airport to MCI in early March, according to a city news release this week, marking Southwest’s 18th nonstop service route at LGB.
“Nonstop flights to and from Kansas City are a great addition to a growing list of destinations offered at our award-winning Long Beach Airport and through our partners at Southwest Airlines,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in the announcement. “If you want one of the best travel experiences anywhere in the country, Long Beach brings it. We look forward to welcoming travelers from Missouri.”
Southwest flights currently occupy 40 of LGB’s 53 currently available daily flight slots. The rest are occupied by Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and UPS.
Three flight slots were previously used by American Airlines — but that company recently announced it would discontinue all service from LGB because of the route’s poor financial performance.
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Southwest’s new Kansas City flights are scheduled to leave Long Beach at 1:20 p.m. daily, the release said, with an estimated 6:30 p.m. arrival time. Return flights will depart MCI at 11:25 a.m. and arrive in Long Beach at 12:40 p.m. every day.
The airline’s first flight from LGB to Kansas City will depart on March 9 — and has been timed specifically to coincide with the completion of a $1.5 billion terminal renovation at MCI, the city’s Thursday, Jan. 19, release said. The project is the largest infrastructure upgrade in Kansas City’s history.
“We welcome Southwest adding more flight options for LGB travelers and providing a connection between Long Beach,” Airport Director Cynthia Guidry said in the announcement, “and the beautiful new facilities being unveiled at Kansas City International Airport.”
Southwest Airlines also recently celebrated an additional a nonstop Sunday flight route from the Long Beach Airport to the the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.