Southwest Airlines announces first flights to Puerto Rico

Southwest Airlines on Thursday announced plans to fly to Puerto Rico, giving the carrier its first-ever route to a destination outside the mainland United States.

The carrier will begin flying to San Juan on April 14 with three daily round-trip flights from Orlando and one from Tampa.

The Southwest service will replace service currently operated by its AirTran subsidiary, which Southwest acquired in 2011 and is gradually assimilating into its own network.

"AirTran has done a wonderful job establishing a presence in this market, and Southwest is proud to continue that legacy and extend our vast network of destinations, exceptional Customer Service, and convenient low fares to the San Juan community," Bob Jordan, who holds the dual titles of AirTran president and Southwest chief commercial officer, said in a press release.

Southwest said that AirTran would continue to offer its existing San Juan service out of Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington and Fort Lauderdale.

Southwest added that it "soon will determine the best time to convert the remaining AirTran flying to Southwest as part of the ongoing integration to eventually become one airline flying under the Southwest brand."