Southwest Airlines is set to abandon Chicago O’Hare in June after starting operations there just five years ago, in what is being assessed as a failed experiment to take on United and American Airlines at the fourth busiest airport in the United States.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Southwest confirmed that the airline will completely pull out of O’Hare on June 4. On the same date, Southwest will also exit Washington Dulles, as it concentrates its presence in both metro areas towards lower-cost airports.
Southwest launched flights at Chicago O’Hare on February 14, 2021, after it took advantage of a COVID-19 pandemic-induced opening at the congested and slot-constrained airport.
With travel demand still way down from pre-pandemic numbers, Southwest was able to snap up available gates and add flights to cities like Baltimore/Washington, Dallas Love Field, Denver, Nashville, and Phoenix.
The strategy was simple. Until 2021, Southwest had concentrated all its efforts in Chicago at Midway Airport, but the airline feared it was losing out on North-Side Chicago passengers, who naturally preferred O’Hare due to its better location.
With little other competition, these passengers, including lucrative business travelers, were locked into flying with United and American Airlines, so Southwest entering the market was seen as a way for the airline to take on their dominance at O’Hare.
The last few years have not, however, played out as Southwest had perhaps hoped. The airline continues to have limited flights from O’Hare, and with travel demand still booming, Southwest now has to battle all the other problems that come with operating from such a busy airport – frequent delays, long taxi times, and gate congestion.
Southwest admitted on Friday that operating out of O’Hare has been “challenging” and the decision to end its five-year presence at the airport is an attempt by the carrier to “refine” its network.
“We are confident we can serve Chicagoland from our long-standing base at Midway, where we will continue to offer service to more than 80 destinations, including the 15 markets we serve from O’Hare,” a spokesperson for Southwest commented.
Southwest’s presence at Washington Dulles is more ingrained, having launched flights there in 2006, but the airline’s operations have always seemed like more of an afterthought compared to Baltimore/Washington and Washington National Airport.
The airline says all frontline employees will be offered the opportunity to move to open positions across its network, including at Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington, and Washington National Airport.
For passengers, Southwest says they shouldn’t see any meaningful reduction in flight availability, but it remains to be seen whether local travelers will go out of their way to fly with Southwest.
No doubt, United, which counts O’Hare and Dulles as two of its biggest hubs, will see Southwest’s departure from these two airports as a victory. The two carriers continue to fight it out in Denver, where a billboard battle broke out late last year.
