There's a big difference in gauge, too. Tomorrow's flights:

AA, 2x 321, 2x 738

UA, 1x 738, 4x 739, 3x 753, 1x 772

Ugh. I am regular on this route as well (although usually Tuesday mornings). Very disappointing to see this.
The 787 sure was nice while it lasted, but we always knew it was going to be temporary.

My country for a 738! ;)

This is quite cheap...would love to have four hour F flight from large metro to large metro for $800 r/t

I have been taking the early morning flight from ORD-SFO for many years, and this seasonal reduction isn't new. The reality is that the loads are extremely light in the winter months on this route, even with <$100 advanced fares.

ORD-SFO on the 788 was a fun novelty, but the primary reason for that flight and the other DFW-SFO flights on the 788 was to have a surge in seats in order to maintain gate allocations. Yes, there is a bit of a spike in demand on the route in December, but for the rest of the winter the flights that remain have maybe 50% load. I've seen flights which have more passengers in First than in the Main Cabin in both directions on this route.

UA's flights are hub to hub and have a bit higher load factor, but it's just the complete lack of demand in this season. AS has the same problem, with three flights going down to one.

We really can't blame AA for the seasonal reduction, and I'm personally fine with the LUS A321. Armed with a 99 watt hour USB-C battery pack, the lack of power is no issue for me.

My only real complaint is that of the early timing - 6:30 AM is just a bit too early for me. Five years ago this flight was AA1585 and departed at 7:30 AM and it has bounced around between that and as early as 7:05 AM. Thankfully, with the ATS at ORD being shutdown, the shuttle buses from parking lot G go straight to the terminals which makes up for some of that time. The downside though is that there's still some rush hour traffic on 101 going into San Francisco when this flight gets in, but that's not added more than 10 minutes or so to my commute.

Hopefully we'll see the currently scheduled timing for the flights in May and beyond stick!

More and more now. Last three ORD/DFW flights and next one are on LUS 321's

Flew this on Tuesday morning this week. Less than 100 people on the flight, all but one row had empty middles (naturally I was in the one row with a middle seat occupied).
Rows 5-8 were blocked for weight and balance issues, so row 9 was first occupied row in economy.

I was 14 of 31 on the upgrade list as PlatPro with middling EQD. Only 1 person cleared at the gate, as usual. So basically 1/3+ of the plane was likely elite.

Flight was over 5 hours as we had to do donuts around the Bay Area for almost half an hour waiting for SFO to clear us to land.

Good times.

And to add insult to injury I am flying the same bird on the way home now, because the earlier flight is leaving later than this one.
Original flight also got switched to an Oasis 737, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise?
Can't win this week. :-(

I'm not sure I'd be so eager for the retrofits. While I use power in flight occasionally, I've never understood the fascination with it being a "must have". I'd MUCH rather have more comfortable seats than power.

I was stuck in coach on a LUS 321 a few weeks back, and must say it was very comfortable. Not sure if the pitch is 31 or 32, but an inch or two really makes a different (I'm 6'0 tall), and my knees did not touch the seat in front of me. I'd much rather have that than have power, since I can always bring my own, or make sure I'm charged up before I go.

Comforting to know there were plenty of EXPs in coach with me ;) I don't think I've ever cleared on an ORD<-->SFO flight during the week. You have to buy F on this route if you want to sit up front.
I was lucky enough to get 10F exit row. At least the view was nice during the holding pattern :D