Austin travelers eyeing Costa Rica’s rainforests and beaches just got a new shortcut. Southwest Airlines is launching a weekly nonstop between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and San José’s Juan Santamaría International Airport on March 13, 2027. The service will run on Saturdays only, with a scheduled flight time of about four hours, and tickets are already up for grabs.
When Flights Start and How to Book
According to the Austin Business Journal, the Austin–San José nonstop will begin service on March 13, 2027, and operate one round trip each Saturday. The outlet also notes that tickets for the new route are already on sale.
Southwest's Investment in Austin
The Costa Rica route is part of a bigger Southwest play at Austin-Bergstrom. In a press release via the Southwest Newsroom, the airline said it will open a new pilot and flight-attendant crew base in Austin that is expected to bring about 2,000 high-paying jobs over the next five years. Southwest also accounts for roughly four in ten passengers at AUS, a figure the airline highlighted while announcing its expansion in the Texas capital.
Flight Details and Local Reaction
The new route clocks in at about 1,639 miles and roughly four hours in the air, and it is a first for both Southwest and Austin-Bergstrom, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi told the newspaper the connection strengthens Austin’s growing global connectivity and will make it easier for locals to reach Costa Rica’s nature and culture. Daniel Jones, Southwest’s vice president of network planning, added, “We have been the hometown carrier in the Texas state capital for nearly 50 years,” underscoring the airline’s pitch that it is doubling down on its Austin base.
What Travelers Should Know
The Saturday-only schedule is a strong hint that this is a leisure-focused route, which means seats could be tighter than on daily services and travelers might want to build in extra time if they are connecting from other cities. Costa Rican outlets report that the flights will use Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with a roughly 175-seat layout, details cited in local coverage of the announcement and reported by El Observador.
