Southwest starting IAH/ORD
Oct 28, 2020, 12:43 pm
#76
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 4,123
Southwest reveals five destinations and timing for their ORD entrance. IAH and HOU are not on the list.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...re/6054800002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...re/6054800002/
Oct 28, 2020, 1:09 pm
#77
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,850
Southwest reveals five destinations and timing for their ORD entrance. IAH and HOU are not on the list.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...re/6054800002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...re/6054800002/
Southwest, which offers more than 200 daily flights from Midway and dominates the airport, plans to start with 20 daily nonstop flights from O'Hare to five cities: Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas Love Field; Denver and Phoenix. Southwest has big operations in each.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 28, 2020 at 11:44 pm Reason: repair quote
Oct 29, 2020, 3:37 pm
#79
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 366
So, while it likely hurts American and United on ORD-BWI and ORD-BNA or ORD-[Southwest large focus city[, there might be a silver lining for United and American.
Southwest used to keep higher frequencies into MDW which helped boost connections as a "hub".
I looked at Southwest's April schedule and service like PHL-MDW, BOS-MDW and LGA-MDW are still relatively low, while it is adding service into its core hub in the east, BWI via ORD and these other new additions.
If MDW-west/southwest routes wind end up decreasing in frequency as well, while ORD-west/southwest cities are added, it makes Southwest even less able to support routes like PHL-MDW, LGA-MDW and BOS-MDW, as many were flying into MDW and then connecting beyond.
So, it can be more dominant on Baltimore-Chicago, but be even less relevant on other eastern cities-MDW where Southwest is already less relevant.
So, a retaliation by United and American might not be start OAK, but drive Southwest off of MDW-PHL, MDW-BOS and diminish it on MDW-LGA.
Southwest used to keep higher frequencies into MDW which helped boost connections as a "hub".
I looked at Southwest's April schedule and service like PHL-MDW, BOS-MDW and LGA-MDW are still relatively low, while it is adding service into its core hub in the east, BWI via ORD and these other new additions.
If MDW-west/southwest routes wind end up decreasing in frequency as well, while ORD-west/southwest cities are added, it makes Southwest even less able to support routes like PHL-MDW, LGA-MDW and BOS-MDW, as many were flying into MDW and then connecting beyond.
So, it can be more dominant on Baltimore-Chicago, but be even less relevant on other eastern cities-MDW where Southwest is already less relevant.
So, a retaliation by United and American might not be start OAK, but drive Southwest off of MDW-PHL, MDW-BOS and diminish it on MDW-LGA.
Last edited by beyondhere; Oct 29, 2020 at 3:45 pm
Oct 29, 2020, 6:07 pm
#80
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 4,123
So, while it likely hurts American and United on ORD-BWI and ORD-BNA or ORD-[Southwest large focus city[, there might be a silver lining for United and American.
Southwest used to keep higher frequencies into MDW which helped boost connections as a "hub".
I looked at Southwest's April schedule and service like PHL-MDW, BOS-MDW and LGA-MDW are still relatively low, while it is adding service into its core hub in the east, BWI via ORD and these other new additions.
If MDW-west/southwest routes wind end up decreasing in frequency as well, while ORD-west/southwest cities are added, it makes Southwest even less able to support routes like PHL-MDW, LGA-MDW and BOS-MDW, as many were flying into MDW and then connecting beyond.
So, it can be more dominant on Baltimore-Chicago, but be even less relevant on other eastern cities-MDW where Southwest is already less relevant.
So, a retaliation by United and American might not be start OAK, but drive Southwest off of MDW-PHL, MDW-BOS and diminish it on MDW-LGA.
Southwest used to keep higher frequencies into MDW which helped boost connections as a "hub".
I looked at Southwest's April schedule and service like PHL-MDW, BOS-MDW and LGA-MDW are still relatively low, while it is adding service into its core hub in the east, BWI via ORD and these other new additions.
If MDW-west/southwest routes wind end up decreasing in frequency as well, while ORD-west/southwest cities are added, it makes Southwest even less able to support routes like PHL-MDW, LGA-MDW and BOS-MDW, as many were flying into MDW and then connecting beyond.
So, it can be more dominant on Baltimore-Chicago, but be even less relevant on other eastern cities-MDW where Southwest is already less relevant.
So, a retaliation by United and American might not be start OAK, but drive Southwest off of MDW-PHL, MDW-BOS and diminish it on MDW-LGA.
Oct 29, 2020, 10:24 pm
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
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Posts: 15,720
Don't forget ORD! I personally hope this will incent UA to resume the oilman special (OAK-IAH) though that seems unlikely as UA prefers just to load up SFO-IAH flights which offer potential connections at both ends.