Thats a great question. I would assume SWAPA came up with that through it's EFA guys. I would bet though it will be a long time before those numbers are breached. The transition to something like this, will take years. SWA maybe a big domestic carrier, but it's non existent outside of CONUS. The near international we do just compliments the domestic network without much complexity in the big scheme of things. Even with ETOPS, those birds do both mainland and ETOPS. Natural extension of the domestic network. Especially on the p2p front. The majority of POS to Europe on the big three is the US. I would assume the same for the Pacific side. Since SWA is the largest domestic airline, partnerships just create an opportunity to extend the network without much risk. If it gets to that point, well, thats a good problem to have.

 

Why are you ruling out ORD? MDW is maxed out until the city buys out nearby homes to expand (which will likely never happen). The only logical way to expand in an already large Chicago market is to grow ORD. Add another codeshare partner (or 2) and you'll have lots of intl feed coming to ORD to fill planes.

Add to the rumor that Delta might get the boot from their gate positions at Terminal 5 so we could move back into those better located gates and there's a strong likelihood it'll happen sooner than later.

 

SWA will never have a European gateway or any real international presence out of Chicago. That geography is already taken and well established by others. MDW is a great connect point for the SWA network. It works well for what it was intended for. ORD just compliments what SWA has in MDW.

 

I’m actually a big proponent of ORD and was disappointed they pulled back there. MDW is inconvenient for much of the Chicago area, doesn’t have good approaches, and as you say it is totally maxed out. The gate situation isn’t great either with the shared gates.

I’m just being realistic that with limited ORD service we won’t capture much international traffic from Iceland Air with the current schedule. Good news is that we have our foot in the door there unlike JFK. Service could be increased. I’m also hoping with the complete ORD overhaul going on we can get more gates in a more convenient location.

However, BWI, BNA, and STL make more sense in the Southwest network to connect international.

 

I hear ya. Never implied we'd start any international service of our own out of ORD, but there's no doubt that large international feed will fill planes. Furthermore - we have a hard enough time lifting out of MDW on longer flights with full loads in the MAX. A shift to ORD for some of the more popular routes would make sense and attract more of the NW suburb crowd.

Completely agree. I live very close to ORD and was looking forward to the chance to bid lines out of there. Wishful thinking but still jump at the LRF trips whenever they pop up!

When more international partnerships are announced - the traffic at ORD will undoubtedly increase. Throw in better gate locations and it only increases traffic and convenience. The only intl airlines at MDW are Volaris and Porter. Would be a joke to partner with either at this stage so let's rule them out. Throw in a large Asia and South America feed and load factors are going to jump significantly.

No doubt there will be future intl expansion at BWI and BNA, and I could see it at STL as well if you target it as future base. All have the infrastructure to handle the larger aircraft - unlike MDW. In any case - I was happy to see the TPA route return and increased routes out of ORD this spring and summer. Hoping the trend continues.

 

SWA has a market share of 91% out of MDW. Frontier is next with 5% and Delta is 2%. SWA does almost 25% of the total Chicago market. Its huge. Of the top 10 O&D city pairs that SWA flies in its whole system, three of them are out of Chicago. It is a very important part of the network. Yields are definitely above the system average. If you drive north to ORD, UAL has 30%, AAL is 23% and Skywest is next at 8%. SWA doesn't even register in the top 5. They lumped in as "others". When ATA gave up those gates to SWA in MDW, that airport became a very important piece of the network and still is to this day. Of the five largest carriers, only Delta flies into MDW. It's a pain in the a** sometimes going in and out there from a aviators point of view but it's a money maker. If SWA had their way, their would be a 8000-9000 ft runway. It would be ideal for a gateway. We all know that won't happen. So the next best thing is pretty much a monopolistic airport. ORD is another spoke in the system. When you listen to BJ talk partnerships and airports, its the mega's that have dominate market share where SWA controls the market. Other than Love Field, which is forbidden, all the other mega's is where partnerships will make the most sense.