Originally Posted by
SOBE ER DOC
The issues is not what the airports were before, but what they are now and while one might think that two airports in a market means you can look holistically about competition across all airports in the market you're wrong. If that were the case everyone would not be fighting for slots at DCA or LGA and would be happy to increase service at the more distant airports like IAD, BWI and the like.
In many respects but not all, Chicago and its metro airports is a single market. Even if one doesn't like MDW or Southwest, passengers using ORD receive a lot of competitive benefit from the presence of MDW.
If airlines are "people" then by economic definition they have unlimited wants. In a situation of scarcity, a scramble for resources is conducted, choices have to be made, and trade-offs performed, none of which should be surprising.
In the greater competitive landscape, IMO we don't need more service from Delta to Delta hubs from DAL. We need more competitive service against legacies to places like MEM and MKE. MKE service got whacked from its loss of Midwest and then its loss of Frontier when Frontier skedaddled.