Frontier announces MDW
 

No real surprise!

I just saw that on a TPG article linked below. This sucks for me because I'm so close to T5 and I just got 100k status for first time. Midway is a pain for me to to go.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/fronti...houston-hobby/

As part of the news, the airline is shifting much of its existing service from O’Hare to Midway. In fact, of the 10 Chicago new routes, only one (to Orlando) will be served from both O’Hare and Midway. Eight of the new Chicago flights will move from O’Hare to Midway, leaving O’Hare with Frontier service to just four destinations: Cancun (CUN), Orlando (MCO), Punta Cana (PUJ) and San Juan (

This seems to be yet one more 'getting out of UA hubs'. They have/will leave EWR, IAD, ORD, and IAH.

How can they follow that strategy when they are based in a UA hub? I really don't think United has anything to do with their strategy. This is just another follow SWA move. Similar to shifting into OAK and leaving SFO and how they have long had lots of flights into BWI, but almost nothing into DCA or IAD. They see SWA getting premium fares with little pushback in their dominant locations and are going to continue to chase that business. Love Field can't be far behind these latest moves. Even more obvious is how the flight times generally align to SWA flight times. Back in 2019 when I was flying almost weekly for business there were lots of opportunities to pocket SWA credit and replace it with very cheap F9 flights if I wanted to do so.

They may have trouble getting into Love and DCA space is at a premium in both. Love is gate restricted and IAD is slot restricted.

Wrong! DCA is slot restricted, not Dulles. IAD is not a slot restricted.

And for DAL Love Field, they have no gate space available. They have no room.

They have a pitiful spot at ORD and the airport has to be more expensive to operate from than MDW.
And they compete with Spirit at O'Hare too.
A move to Midway is way overdue.

It makes sense even though I don't like it.

I'm curious why they left MDW to come to ORD in 2015.

Yes so true. Last time I flew there I walk off for an eternity, was that hybrid gate where they are doing some work so its the longest jetway youd ever see. Once in the terminal I see a huge crowd waiting to get on a flight to Istanbul and a sign that says baggage claim 9 minute walk this way and thought it really can't get worse than that for a domestic flight. It got worse outside because airtrain isnt running after 9pm and have to take a 10 minute bus ride just to get to the long walk to the CTA stop. Then when leaving, the international terminal has only two food outlets open with massive lines and tons of construction going on.

Id want to exit that situation too.