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Southwest Las Vegas Costa Rica Red Eye Starts Oct 2026

Southwest Las Vegas red eye flight boards at LAS at night, highlighting new Costa Rica service for October 2026.
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6 min read

Southwest Las Vegas red eye flight service to San Jose, Costa Rica, is part of an expanded fall 2026 schedule that adds departures and new routes at several U.S. hubs. Travelers booking or connecting through Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Nashville International Airport (BNA), San Diego International Airport (SAN), and Orlando International Airport (MCO) will see more peak day flights, plus new and returning nonstop pairs. For October 2026 trips, compare daytime versus overnight arrival costs, lock in seats early under assigned seating, and build margin for late night operations and tight connections.

The Southwest Las Vegas red eye flight is the headline change because it shifts arrival timing, and it shows Southwest leaning into overnight flying to unlock international capacity out of its Las Vegas hub. Southwest says its schedule is open for booking through October 31, 2026, and it is highlighting record peak day trip counts in Austin, Las Vegas, Nashville, and San Diego, plus October growth in Orlando.

In Austin, Southwest says it will run up to 135 trips on peak days through October, and it is pairing that with a new flight crew base planned for spring 2026. The fall schedule also adds year round service to Memphis International Airport (MEM), plus Saturday seasonal flights to Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS) near Santa Rosa, and McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) near Knoxville.

In Las Vegas, Southwest says it will fly 282 Sunday departures, and it describes Las Vegas to San Jose, Costa Rica, as a daily route and the airline's first international red eye. Costa Rica's tourism agency says the service begins October 1, 2026, departing at 1120 p.m. from Harry Reid and arriving about 600 a.m. at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO).

Southwest's other hub adds are mostly about frequency and utility. In Nashville, it cites 215 Sunday flights and about 210 flights on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, with new year round service to Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO), and an additional roundtrip to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). In San Diego, it cites up to 140 trips tied to the airport's new Terminal 1, and it plans to double San Diego to Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) service from once daily to twice daily beginning October 1. In Orlando, it cites up to 181 departures on the busiest days, weekday Orlando to Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) flights, and seasonal adds and increases to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), El Paso International Airport (ELP), Memphis International Airport (MEM), and Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF).

Who Is Affected

Travelers headed to Costa Rica are the most directly affected, especially anyone who prefers to arrive in the morning and start sightseeing the same day. A red eye can turn one hotel night into an extra day on the ground, but it also creates early arrival friction for immigration lines, rental car counters, and hotel check in windows, and it is more sensitive to late night delays because there are fewer later flights to fall back on.

Central Texas travelers using Austin, and anyone who routinely connects through Austin, should pay attention to the spring 2026 crew base opening because crew positioning is a major factor in how quickly an airline can recover from a disrupted day. The added Austin route mix also matters for travelers who have been forced into longer connects to reach Memphis, Sonoma County, or Knoxville on Southwest.

Frequent flyers in Nashville, San Diego, and Orlando benefit most from additional departures, particularly on peak days. More frequency usually improves same day rebooking, but it can also make peak periods feel more crowded because each additional departure stresses gates, ramp staffing, baggage systems, and local road access.

What Travelers Should Do

If you are targeting October 2026 travel, book earlier than you normally would on Southwest, then set a reminder to reprice, because fares can move as the market absorbs added capacity. For the Las Vegas to Costa Rica red eye, plan for the overnight, decide whether you want a pre departure hotel night in Las Vegas, and decide whether you can use a dawn arrival in San Jose without paying for an extra hotel night or early check in.

If your trip depends on a same day connection to a cruise embarkation, a wedding, or a fixed tour start, choose the most direct itinerary you can and avoid brittle connections, even if the new schedule makes a tighter connection look possible. If your trip is flexible, lock something refundable in now, then shop again later, especially in Nashville and Orlando where multiple routes are being added or expanded.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours after you book, watch for aircraft and schedule adjustments that can change your connection viability, and confirm terminal and gate information in the airline app, especially in San Diego as Terminal 1 changes continue. Also confirm how assigned seating works on your itinerary, see Southwest Assigned Seating Changes Boarding January 2026. If inflight connectivity is part of your work plan, track the Starlink rollout timing, see Southwest Starlink WiFi Upgrade For Summer 2026.

How It Works

When an airline extends its schedule window, it is selling a set of aircraft hours, crew hours, and gate hours that must align across the network. A new international red eye is not just a single route decision, it reshapes overnight aircraft rotations, crew duty periods, and early morning arrival capacity at the destination airport, which is why a late inbound aircraft into Las Vegas can ripple into the overnight departure, then spill into morning domestic turns.

At the same time, added frequency can make recovery easier because there are more seats to absorb disrupted passengers, and a local crew base can shorten the time it takes to staff a delayed aircraft. This schedule growth is also happening in an industry that remains sensitive to fleet availability, see FAA Delays on Boeing 737 MAX 10 Hit Airline Capacity.

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