Southwest Announces Big Travel Update for College Football Playoff

The next couple of weeks are one of the peak travel periods of the year, but not just because its holiday season. It's also bowl season, which means plenty of college football fans will be on the move to watch their favorite teams play in the postseason.

Recently, Southwest Airlines announced expanded service coinciding with the upcoming College Football Playoff, designed to help fans looking to see their teams in person. In total, 41 new flights are available, with destinations centered around eight bowl games, including five CFP contests.

Southwest's new college football flights begin Thursday

The College Football Playoff begins this Friday night with a first-round showdown between SEC schools, Alabama and Oklahoma. It's a fitting starting point for the "Official Airline of the SEC" to unveil its special schedule.

Southwest Airlines Flight 5087 will depart Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama at 2 p.m. Thursday, arriving in Oklahoma City at 4:05 p.m. This route is not typically serviced by Southwest and has been added for the CFP.

On game day, another flight will leave Birmingham at 8:50 a.m. and land in Oklahoma City just before 11 a.m. On Saturday, there will be return flights from OKC leaving at 9:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. and arriving back in Birmingham at 11 a.m. and 3:55 p.m. respectively.

More College Football Playoff routes are on the way

The quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff kicks off with the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve. That game will feature the winner of Miami (Fla.)-Texas A&M against defending national champion Ohio State.

To accommodate Buckeye fans, Southwest is adding one flight from Cleveland and two from Columbus, Ohio to Dallas on Dec. 30, with three returning flights on Jan. 1.

There are three more College Football Playoff quarterfinals set for Jan. 1: the Orange Bowl in Miami, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

For the Orange Bowl, which will feature Texas Tech against either Oregon or James Madison, Southwest has tacked on an additional flight from Dallas to Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 30, along with flights from Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lubbock to Fort Lauderdale and Miami on Dec. 31. Return flights to all four cities from both Florida flight hubs will run on Jan. 2.

Georgia will play either Ole Miss or Tulane in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. As a result, Southwest will run two more flights between Atlanta and New Orleans on Dec. 31, with two return flights on Jan. 2.

Lastly, Southwest is creating a direct route from Indianapolis to Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl, providing Indiana fans with two departures on Dec. 31 and two return flights on Jan. 2.

Southwest running new flights for 3 other games

In addition to the College Football Playoff, Southwest is running additional flights for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa and Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 31, as well as the Las Vegas Bowl on the same day.

You can find the full schedule for the college football postseason here.