Lack of nonstop flights from ORD

[rpisaneschi]

Why the lack of Non-Stop flights from and to Chicago O'Hare largest airport in the world?

ORD to SRQ, there are none, you have to fly out of Midway, Arrrg.

ORD to SJC there are none, you have to fly out of Miidway, Arrrg.

[DancingDavidE]

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@rpisaneschi wrote:

Why the lack of Non-Stop flights from and to Chicago O'Hare largest airport in the world?

ORD to SRQ, there are none, you have to fly out of Midway, Arrrg.

ORD to SJC there are none, you have to fly out of Miidway, Arrrg.

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Southwest only has a few gates in Terminal 5 as opposed to having most of Midway airport one of Southwest's largest operations. 

The expansion there was reported to be competition with United and American so you'll see some flights to DAL, PHX, DEN and then a few flights to Southwest focus cities BNA, BWI, MCO.

But TL;DR: the limited gates mean fewer options compared to MDW and unfortunately your destinations aren't a match.

*I did take ORD to SRQ before though so maybe that route is seasonal or on certain days, there has been a direct flight at times.

[brettmic]

I agree! I woke up this morning to both of our nonstop flights going to and coming back from Vegas being changed by 3 hours each in June. The times are extremely inconvenient but there are no other nonstop options. The other options (1 stop) jumped in price from 4:.30 this morning to now (8:30am). Unbelievable! I checked Midway and they are also unbelievably expensive for the time we need to go. Also Midway is not a good option for us to fly out of. I know someone is going to suggest MKE but again, prices are ridiculous. Southwest is currently not our friend!!

[5280Av8r]

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@brettmic wrote:

I agree! I woke up this morning to both of our nonstop flights going to and coming back from Vegas being changed by 3 hours each in June. The times are extremely inconvenient but there are no other nonstop options. The other options (1 stop) jumped in price from 4:.30 this morning to now (8:30am). Unbelievable! I checked Midway and they are also unbelievably expensive for the time we need to go. Also Midway is not a good option for us to fly out of. I know someone is going to suggest MKE but again, prices are ridiculous. Southwest is currently not our friend!!

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I believe most airlines have a clause where if your flight time gets changed by the airline, you can change to a better (more convenient) option free of charge even if there’s a price difference. 

Also, Southwest only recently started to serve ORD and really only as a competitive move against larger carriers and maybe to tap into the market on that side of Chicago. MDW will always be Southwest’s primary Chicago airport because if United or American sense SWA encroaching on their turf, you better believe they’ll do their best to squash them. 

Airlines don’t aim to be everyone’s friend. They offer a product (seats, service, route network, lounges) and people choose what suits their need best. 

Is there viable expansion opportunities for SWA at ORD? Maybe. But at the end of the day, you choose the product that serves your needs best and it doesn’t have to be Southwest. Since I’m in Charlotte now instead of Denver, I find myself flying American more because their product fits my needs more often than Southwest. 

[dfwskier]

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@brettmic wrote:

I agree! I woke up this morning to both of our nonstop flights going to and coming back from Vegas being changed by 3 hours each in June. 

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In situations such as yours Southwest will allow you to make a nost cot change to your flight between the original two cities.

Log on to your RR account, try to change your flight for the same day and you should see that you can change to any flight with seats available for sale. The same should apply if you look at MDW departures..

[Isbell54]

Airlines typically prioritize routes based on demand from passengers. If there isn't enough demand for nonstop flights to a particular destination from ORD, airlines may opt to offer connecting flights instead.

[Cbara07]

Finding this thread after experiencing the same frustration. I fly to MCO from Chicago at least once a year and my mother does the opposite also at least once a year. Looking for flights for her for June and there’s barely any non-stop to ORD and MDW costs are ridiculous! Between the 2022 holiday mess,  going on 4 weeks now waiting on my refunded priority boarding after they changed our flights out of nowhere and were given C boarding, and now the inability to get a decent flight… really losing faith in Southwest.

[DancingDavidE]

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@Cbara07 wrote:

Finding this thread after experiencing the same frustration. I fly to MCO from Chicago at least once a year and my mother does the opposite also at least once a year. Looking for flights for her for June and there’s barely any non-stop to ORD and MDW costs are ridiculous! Between the 2022 holiday mess,  going on 4 weeks now waiting on my refunded priority boarding after they changed our flights out of nowhere and were given C boarding, and now the inability to get a decent flight… really losing faith in Southwest.

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Midway is widely known to be the cheaper of the two airports, the fees associated with the landing and facilities are way less hence why Southwest has been using Midway for so long to the exclusion of O'Hare until recently. If the fares are high then it's due to supply and demand. 

Some gates opened up during the pandemic due to the international flights being so much less so Southwest was able to claim ~4 gates in Terminal 5 at O'Hare. The strategy seems to be offering direct competition from O'Hare to American and United who fly to their hubs so there is definitely a concentration of flights to DEN, DAL, PHX, and then Southwest's "hubs that aren't hubs" BNA and BWI.

ORD can never equal what MDW has to offer as Southwest has 20+ more gates to use at MDW.

[Isbell54]

Some destinations might be better served by other airports that act as competing hubs. For example, if a city is closer to another major airport such as Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) or Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), airlines may choose to operate nonstop flights from those hubs instead.

[Isbell54]

Airlines need to ensure that routes are economically viable. Factors such as operating costs, fuel prices, and competition can influence the profitability of a route. Office ally  If the route is not expected to generate sufficient revenue, airlines may opt not to offer nonstop flights.