MDW Station To Close
 

According to some post in the Q1 loss thread, a.net and other sources, CO has informed the city of Chicago that they intend to close the MDW station at the end of May. I am sure we will see more details in the next day or so.

Not a huge impact, but ORD is just not as convenient.

That would be a shame as I always preferred MDW over ORD when going to Chicago.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a significant reduction in capacity from EWR in the summer schedule, so it would not surprise me if the do close it up all together.

Well...with fuel prices soaring and too many planes in the sky, something has to give. It must be real tempting for the folks on Smith St. to create an Excel spreadsheet, sort stations by profitability and close all bases not profitable. Given the network externalities, it won't work out quite this way, but you get the picture.

On a historical note...I vaguely remember seeing a sign for the Presidents Club at MDW airport maybe 10 years ago. Was not a member at the time, so did not visit. Is this just my brain remembering too many airports, the old MDW terminal reminded me of SJC and DCA, or or was there ever at PC at MDW?

Looks to be true--
http://cbs2chicago.com/consumer/cont....2.702746.html

Well, I have tickets to MDW in late June on the Q400. I guess I won't be flying the Q400.

I guess COUA will be focusing all of its flights at ORD.

I just noticed that CO had already changed my flight to ORD - and not marked in RED with the accept button. I was returning from ORD, but for my arrival MDW was better.

CO and NW are the only two hold-outs for approving the privatization of MDW... could be realted...

That sucks, I think MDW is a much nicer airport than ORD. And its more convenient to get to the loop .

This is really too bad. There are many times when ORD is almost shut down and MDW is functioning ontime, so it was a viable option many times for getting out of Chicago.

In addition - flights between CLE-ORD - especially Mondays and Thursdays, are already full. How will the excess load be handled?

Let's hope the silver lining here is that they will restore either XJT or mainline service from CLE-ORD - and remove the ever unreliable CHQ from flying into ORD.

Well, thanks for the heads up... I just looked and my November flight was changed to ORD also... without any notification from Continental.:td:

Well, I have to assume that the yields for MDW were always way lower than for ORD based on the significantly discounted fares that CO was offering there to compete with WN/TZ. It would be nice to see ORD benefit from the upsizing of the 737 fleet, picking up some bigger planes at rush hour times to help manage the loads.

As for the lack of notification to people, CO is pretty bad about sending out an email saying that the itinerary has changed. But was the res tagged online as changed or just a fait accompli?

Confirmed by WBBM Newsradio
 

http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/2024791.php?

"We are no longer able to continue the service to Midway after May 31. The financial performance of the flights coupled with the high cost of fuel has made the losses too great to allow us to maintain the service. Any passengers who are ticketed on Midway flights will be contacted and offered reaccommodation on flights from O’Hare or a refund. Continental truly appreciates the support that has been shown for us by the community and the local aviation authority."

Continental Express to cease flights from Midway to Cleveland, Newark
 

From WKYC.com: 4-18-08.

CHICAGO -- As of May 31, Continental Airlines is ending its Continental Express subsidiary operations between Chicago's Midway airport and both Cleveland Hopkins International airport and New Jersey's Newark airport.

Looks like the high price of fuel...again.

NOT good news... oh well, I'll try to enjoy my final flight from MDW on May 28th.

Much preferred MDW over the traffic at ORD.

As it was served only from CLE and EWR (not IAH), I never even looked into MDW as an option. I know it would have meant more miles/segments, but most of the time, I was looking at ORD as a connection-point anyhow...

Bringing back HOU-EWR would certainly be nice, but I doubt CO wants to get into a fight with WN at the moment.