Southwest to add nonstop flight from Kansas City to Austin, Texas

Southwest Airlines will begin nonstop service between Kansas City International Airport and Austin, Texas, on March 13, 2017, the airline announced Thursday.

Southwest, KCI’s largest air carrier, will offer a daily nonstop flight to Austin on a Boeing 737 aircraft.

Austin is currently the largest destination from Kansas City without nonstop air service, with 98 passengers per day each way.

“With nearly 100 daily passengers making connections between Kansas City and Austin every day, this new nonstop flight will greatly improve the travel experience, cutting elapsed travel times nearly in half,” Pat Klein, director of Kansas City’s Aviation Department, said in a news release.

Southwest launched nonstop service to San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 6. Austin would become Southwest’s fourth nonstop destination to Texas from KCI. Other nonstop flights go to Houston and Dallas. All told, Southwest will have 30 nonstop destinations from Kansas City.

Meanwhile Thursday afternoon, Spirit Airlines starts offering nonstop service from KCI to Orlando. Spirit also flies to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Detroit from Kansas City.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Southwest to add nonstop flight from Kansas City to Austin, Texas."