Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

MIDWAY?????

GShook
Explorer C

Why do you insist on continuing a relationship with an airport, located in a major transportation hub, that is still stuck in 1975?  Repeatedly I have flights cancelled or delayed going into Midway.  You guys reference these events as weather related so you aren't out any money and the fact is if you made the investment to fly in and out of a real airport, many of these delays wouldn't be an issue.  As long as you're provided the "out" of claiming these are weather related and not due to your lack of concern for your customers, you will continue to play that card.  

 

How does a mojor airport shut down due to ice in the midwest?  Newsflash, it gets cold up here.  It snows and it rains.  If Midway can't keep up with the weather while the one across town can, that isn't a weather thing, its an incompetence or an ambivalence thing.  How much longer do you intend on sacrificing your customer experience due to your utilization of this armpit of an airport?

 

Additionally, your communication continues to deteriorate regarding these delays and cancellations with the latest occurance happening with ZERO notification.  I didn't find out until I cleared security and got to the gate!!  Again, you played your favorite "Get out of Jail Free" card by claiming weather as opposed to incomptence. 

 

I understand you have as much control of the weather as you do the facilities at Midway.  I understand you do not own that part of the equation.  However, as you continue to fly in and out of that hole, you get to own the negative customer experience.  If only that meant anything to you!!

9 REPLIES 9

Re: MIDWAY?????

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@GShook wrote:

Why do you insist on continuing a relationship with an airport, located in a major transportation hub, that is still stuck in 1975?  Repeatedly I have flights cancelled or delayed going into Midway.  You guys reference these events as weather related so you aren't out any money and the fact is if you made the investment to fly in and out of a real airport, many of these delays wouldn't be an issue.  As long as you're provided the "out" of claiming these are weather related and not due to your lack of concern for your customers, you will continue to play that card.  

 

How does a mojor airport shut down due to ice in the midwest?  Newsflash, it gets cold up here.  It snows and it rains.  If Midway can't keep up with the weather while the one across town can, that isn't a weather thing, its an incompetence or an ambivalence thing.  How much longer do you intend on sacrificing your customer experience due to your utilization of this armpit of an airport?

 

Additionally, your communication continues to deteriorate regarding these delays and cancellations with the latest occurance happening with ZERO notification.  I didn't find out until I cleared security and got to the gate!!  Again, you played your favorite "Get out of Jail Free" card by claiming weather as opposed to incomptence. 

 

I understand you have as much control of the weather as you do the facilities at Midway.  I understand you do not own that part of the equation.  However, as you continue to fly in and out of that hole, you get to own the negative customer experience.  If only that meant anything to you!!


Where are you coming from @GShook - I know from my home and office in the near-north suburbs it is about the same drive time to MKE as MDW if that's an option for you if you really feel that MDW is underperforming compared to other airports. 

 

The runways are definitely shorter than other major airports, so ice is something that MDW may be particularly succeptible to.

 

Here's a list of the 10 major airports with weather delays in the USA.

https://weather.com/travel/news/2018-11-19-most-weather-delayed-major-us-airports

 

They didn't even put MDW in this list, and by most measures MDW is around the 25th busiest.

 

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: MIDWAY?????

dfwskier
Aviator A

David, thanks fo posting the link. It verified a point I made in my other post:

 

Weather related delays at Ohare are worse than Miwday -- as a matter of fact they are the worst in the country:

 

"No U.S. airport had more weather delays in our 10-year study than O'Hare, averaging 30,000 weather delays and over 2.1 million weather delay minutes a year."

Re: MIDWAY?????

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

David, thanks fo posting the link. It verified a point I made in my other post:

 

Weather related delays at Ohare are worse than Miwday -- as a matter of fact they are the worst in the country:

 

"No U.S. airport had more weather delays in our 10-year study than O'Hare, averaging 30,000 weather delays and over 2.1 million weather delay minutes a year."


Percentage-wise I'm sure they are both succeptible in similar weather. Things that make the short runway difficult will affect Midway more. 

 

There was the incident last year where someone didn't order enough de-icer and got caught without enough to operate through a cold spell, that was a big mistake!

 

But otherwise I think most Midwest airports are comparable, both Chicago airports are really busy in terms of density of flights and delays will snowball. (pun intended!)

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: MIDWAY?????

thatsarahlewis
Explorer C
Boston, Newark, LaGuardia and JFK all sharing airspace creates the most delays by far, which most travelers are fully aware of. Atlanta is the worst by a landslide though! I fly ATL to MDW and back multiple times a year with barely any issues or cancellations!
thatsarahlewis

Re: MIDWAY?????

dfwskier
Aviator A

Have you ever bothered to look at the number of weather related delays / cancellations out of ORD (OHare)? It isn't just a Midway thing.

 

Weather doesn't have to be at Midway to cause problems  at Midway -- or any other airport for that matter. Weather at the airport your flight is coming from might be the issue. Weather between Midway that the airport your flight is coming from might be the issue. Same for your destination airport.

 

My experience is that there are actually fewer delays / cancellations (as % of total number of flights)

at Midway than OHare.

 

I have friends flying from Midway to Dallas this afternoon. The flight is already delayed. The reason: weather in and around Dallas. I had a friend flying from Dallas to Midway last week, and the flight was cancelled due to weather in Dallas.

 

I'm sorry the weather is causing you problems, but if you fly, weather is going to ccasionally cause you problems.

 

Of course the  alternative is for the airline to fly when it should not, and crash a plane or two. Then your survivors would really have a reason to complain.

Re: MIDWAY?????

DfDrPepper_23
Frequent Flyer C

@GShook

 

I had a bad experience with Midway. I was going to Hobby from Midway(MDW) for my uncle's funeral. At about the same time, my aunt was leaving Lambert for Hobby, I was about to leave and was about to arrive Hobby from MDW before my aunt can get to Hobby from Lambert, but to my dismay, the temperature was 32 with little rain. However, my flight was delayed for a hour and half!

 

By that time when I got on the plane as my plane towed out the gate before deiceing, I got a text message from my sister in Houston letting me know that my aunt made to Hobby before my plane took off MDW.

 

I do not recall O'Hare (ORD) ever had some weather delayment problem, like cold, fog and so on. At one vantage point, my plane did came in ORD from Memphis with dense of fog! There was never any delayment at ORD. I have been there for years since I was little. Midway on the other hand is airport on the block of residental area. If you look at the map, the airport is surrounded by the houses around the block.

 

 

 

Re: MIDWAY?????

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@DfDrPepper_23 wrote:

@GShook

 

 

...Midway on the other hand is airport on the block of residental area. If you look at the map, the airport is surrounded by the houses around the block.


It is referred to as the "busiest square mile on Earth" - in terms of density I expect it to rate very high on number of passengers per foot of runway.

 

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: MIDWAY?????

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

I’ve had many small delays through MDW over the years, but the one MAJOR one I had was actually NOT weather-related. Without anyone asking, SW announced they were giving the whole plan vouchers, and they called everyone up by name to distribute them. 

 

I tend end to avoid Chicago in the winter months simply because I know that the area is prone to snow. Even the best operations can only do so much in harsh weather. 

 

Finally, I really enjoy the fact that’s SW operates at smaller airports outside many major cities (Houston, Dallas); it makes it easier to get in and out.

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: MIDWAY?????

bgubs14
Frequent Flyer C

As others have said, Midway actually does not have that many delays! In fact it has some of the least delays! A travel blogger named Asher Fergusson a month ago made a delay index which considers taxi times, delays, cancellations, arrival times, and security and Midway came out 23/25 for the least delays when looking at the top 25 airports below.   Here's the index in detail . 

 

 

. John F. Kennedy, New York City, 588.99

2. Newark Liberty, Newark, N.J., 588.32

3. LaGuardia, New York City, 539.75

 4. O’Hare, Chicago, 530.54

5. Miami International, 523.19

6. San Francisco International, 519.06

7. Orlando International, 517.81

8. Logan International, Boston, 513.55

9. Philadelphia International, 499.29

10. George Bush Intercontinental, Houston, 497.42

11. Dallas-Fort Worth International, 490.70

12. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, 488.71

13. Reagan National, Arlington, Va., 483.15

14. Charlotte Douglas, Charlotte, N.C., 471.94

15. Los Angeles International, 467.95

16. Detroit Metropolitan, 464.54

17. Denver International, 434.67

18. Minneapolis/St. Paul International, 416

19. McCarran International, Las Vegas, Nev., 415.81

20. Atlanta International, 414.05

21. Baltimore-Washington International, 401.98

22. Seattle-Tacoma International, 394.72

23. Chicago Midway, 382.58

24. Salt Lake City International, Salt Lake City, Utah, 378.04

25. Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix, Ariz., 364.36