Originally Posted by
jsloan
SFO isn't particularly comparable due to the geography. If ORD were between downtown Chicago and MDW, and then you had another option that was across a toll bridge, then sure. And I'm not sure how seriously I take their return to SFO, looking at the flight schedule. It's pretty anemic -- and only really viable if you're heading south. To SEA or PDX, they want to send you through DEN or PHX.
WN serves two main markets -- leisure travel and very-short-haul business travel. Perhaps there's a ton of money to be made in ORD-STL that isn't available on MDW-STL? Somehow I doubt it, though.
If they really mean to launch ORD-IAH in particular, as opposed to launching service at those two airports (which is how I've construed the announcement), UA will eat their lunch. It's way too far for a "nobody cares about comfort" flight like an intra-TX or intra-CA route, and UA can (and will) wallop them with frequency. And, as lacking as UA can be in this area, you'd be nuts to look at WN for "on time-ish." Because, again, the thing that UA can do that WN can't? Put you onto the AA flight when your UA flight is out of service.
No other airline "eats" WN's lunch. It may sample a market and pull out. (This doesn't occur too frequently). WN can weather any purported lunch eating without material financial loss. As far as UA doing what WN can't (put you on AA), I can't say this will be the case going forward at some point. WN recently went through a back office overhaul by joining the GDS world (as a full participant with certain systems). This also provides the functionality of multiple carrier / interline ticketing. This doesn't mean it is occurring now. It means that it can easily occur at the "flip of a switch."
As for the "nobody cares about comfort" comment, I just don't see how any other carrier's regular Y cabin is less comfortable than WN. I don't recall the last year I was in a regular UA Y seat. It may be a couple of decades ago. I've no doubt that WN has surveyed how much business it is losing by not serving IAH/ORD. At one end, or both ends, HOU or MDW is just not convenient enough, and not worth the hassle vs. not flying the first choice of airline. I'm not WN's biggest cheerleader. I fly WN on average maybe 4 segments a year. I am more than a bit displeased that it has driven out most domestic competition from OAK.