United, Southwest announce new flights to Myrtle Beach International Airport
United Airlines and Southwest Airlines announced new nonstop flights to Myrtle Beach and Charleston, better connecting the two coastal South Carolina destinations to the South and Midwest.
The expansions of the two airlines come as airlines around the country are starting to see more people interested in traveling and millions more people are getting vaccinated against COVID-19. “Pent-up demand” to travel has caused coastal cities like Myrtle Beach and Miami to be flooded with visitors.
“In the past few weeks, we have seen the strongest flight bookings since the start of the pandemic,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of United’s domestic network planning and scheduling. “As we rebuild our schedule to meet that demand, adding in seasonal point-to-point flying is just one of the ways we are finding opportunities to add new and exciting service. And as we have done throughout the entire pandemic, we will continue being nimble and strategic with our network to add the right service to the destinations our customers want to visit.”
Horry County lauded the expansion as great for tourism in Myrtle Beach.
“United has long been a loyal partner to the Myrtle Beach International Airport and we’re elated to see the airline expand its offerings from MYR,” Director of Airports Scott Van Moppes said in a statement. “These new markets will provide excellent summer travel opportunities for both tourists and residents of the Grand Strand and we thank United for their continued commitment to our destination.”
Here are the new United flights to Myrtle Beach and Charleston. They will be offered seasonally from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Myrtle Beach
- Cleveland
- Milwaukee
- St. Louis
Charleston
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Indianapolis
- Milwaukee
- Pittsburgh
Southwest previously shared it would be begin service to Myrtle Beach for the first time ever. Tuesday’s announcement detailed which cities the Dallas-based carrier will connect with nonstop flights to the Grand Strand.
Here area the new flights to Myrtle Beach on Southwest and when they start.
- May 23: Baltimore, Chicago and Nashville,
- May 29 (Saturdays only): Dallas and Pittsburgh
- June 6: Atlanta, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis
Southwest has rapidly expanded this year in the domestic airline market even as it and most other airlines around the world have faced significant economic hardship.
Some of the Southwest fares will be as low as $69 each way, and the company, keeping in mind Myrtle Beach visitors, assures that golf bags fall under its infamous “bags fly free” policy.
“We continue to tailor our schedule with added flights to address closer-in demand for leisure destinations while making foundational additions to our map that position our network for the future,” Southwest Airlines spokesman Andrew Watterson said in a press release. “We’re so pleased to share our Heart with them in time to bring visitors this summer.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 2:47 PM with the headline "United, Southwest announce new flights to Myrtle Beach International Airport."
