![]() ![]() In June, for each Southwest flight planned at O’Hare, there are 15 at Midway, where the airline accounts for 90.5% of all scheduled passenger flights, according to data from travel analytics company Cirium.Įven with a relatively small number of flights, adding service at O’Hare gives travelers choices and could help Southwest grow as travel recovers, industry analysts said. Southwest may add additional flights at O’Hare as demand for travel grows, but Midway will continue to be the airline’s “anchor” in Chicago, Harvey said. All of the employees at O’Hare are existing Southwest employees, including about half who transferred from Midway and half who transferred from other cities where the airline operates. All are destinations the airline already serves at Midway, and Southwest said fares would be similar at both airports.Ībout 80 Southwest employees will work at O’Hare out of more than 5,000 workers total in Chicago, the airline said. Southwest will add three Saturday flights from O’Hare to Orlando in March. “It has to be taken seriously, especially at this time when demand is hard to find at the right prices and airlines are having to pivot their networks to find what revenue they can,” Mann said. since the pandemic began, except for basic economy passengers. Southwest also doesn’t charge some common fees, like checked bag fees and flight change fees, though United, American and Delta Air Lines have also eliminated change fees on flights departing the U.S. It could have an impact on fares as travel recovers, especially when it comes to last-minute tickets, Mann said. Still, Southwest has a broad network that makes it more attractive to a wider pool of customers than leisure-focused budget airlines, said Robert Mann, a New York-based airline industry consultant. Southwest will likely offer bargain fares initially, but “will, like any airline, want to secure the highest fares possible over time,” Grant said. While low-cost carriers like Southwest usually have a bigger impact on legacy carriers’ fares, Southwest already has an established presence in Chicago and the pandemic has pushed domestic airfares to “historic lows,” Damodaran said. ![]()
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