Above: a Southwest Airlines plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Southwest Airlines will be launching daily nonstop service from the United States to several new destinations in the Caribbean, the company announced Monday.

The service will begin on July 1, 2014, Southwest President and CEO Gary Kelly announced in a release.

The carrier will be launching daily nonstop service from Atlanta to Aruba and Montego Bay Jamaica and from Baltimore/Washington to Aruba, Nassau and Montego Bay, with twice-daily service to Montego Bay.

The carrier will additionally be launching daily nonstop service from Orlando to Montego Bay and Saturday-only service to Aruba.

It represents the first phase of what Southwest is calling an “international conversion plan.”

AirTran, which was acquired by Southwest in 2011, will continue operating flights between Atlanta and Nassau and between Chicago and Montego Bay and to and from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

“Southwest Airlines democratized the sky from our first flights more than four decades ago,” Kelly said. “Today’s milestone enables us to reach new territory, new Customers, and build upon a four decade foundation of doing right by the travelers who trust our value and our people.”