Southwest Airlines Chicago O Hare

The Southwest Travel Experience

At Southwest, we know it takes more than great deals on Houston airfares and convenient scheduling options to make your trip memorable. So from booking to boarding, we offer services and features designed to make your travel from Chicago to Houston the best it can be. Learn more about the Southwest® travel experience before you book your flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Flying with Southwest is simple and fun, no matter which of our dozens of exciting destinations you choose. When you search for your next flight to Houston , know that you wont be surprised at checkout. Low fares and no hidden fees. That’s Transfarency®. And as always, two bags fly free®1. Want the latest news, information, and promotional offers from Southwest? from us. Book your flight today and know that you’ll earn Rapid Rewards® points when you fly.

1First and second checked bags. Weight and size limits apply.

2Fare difference may apply.

Will Southwest Airlines’ Move Into O’hare Mean More Cheap Fares

• Signs tell travelers as they drive into O’Hare International Airport that Southwest Airlines has arrived and is stationed at Terminal 5.Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

• Travelers check in at the Southwest counter at O’Hare International Airport, where the carrier began operating flights mid-February.Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

• A Southwest Airlines jet at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 sits at a gate Thursday after arriving from Tennessee.Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

• A Southwest Airlines jet at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 sits at a gate Thursday after arriving from Tennessee.Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

Southwest Airlines shook up Chicago aviation norms in mid-February, launching 16 new flights a day from O’Hare International Airport, smack in United and American airlines’ territory.

On Saturday, the carrier debuts service to Orlando, Florida, from its new nook at O’Hare’s Terminal 5. And in April, “we’ll add two additional destinations from O’Hare with nonstop service on Saturdays to both Fort Myers and Tampa, Florida,” spokesman Dan Landson said.

It was a bold move, and delighted some Northwest suburban residents who prefer departing from O’Hare rather than trekking south to Southwest’s Midway International Airport hub in Chicago. But it was a shot across the bow for O’Hare’s two legacy airlines, coming as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to deflate air travel by as much as 63.5% at the airport, according to city data released Friday.

Plan Your Ideal Trip From O’hare

Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight.

Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of week and won’t be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.

Fares may be combined with other Southwest Airlines® combinable fares. If combining with other fares, the most restrictive fare’s rules apply.

Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines®, as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Failure to cancel prior to departure will result in forfeiture of remaining funds on the reservation.

Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel may require an upgrade to the Anytime fare depending on Rapid Rewards® tier status.

Fares are subject to change until ticketed.

Offer applies only to published, scheduled service.

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Southwest Airlines O’hare Chicago Il

Southwest Expanding Service In Chicago & Houston

Southwest Airlinesannounced plans to expand its footprint in Chicago and Houston. Starting in the first half of 2021, Southwest will launch flights to:

• Chicago OHare International Airport
• Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport

It goes without saying that those are major international airports among the biggest in the country but currently Southwest Airlines doesnt fly to either. Instead Southwest flies to the alternative airports in the cities, where the airline has mega-hubs:

• Chicago Midway Airport is one of the busiest airports in Southwests network the airline has been flying to Chicago since 1985
• Houston Hobby Airport is another one of the busiest airports in Southwests network between 1980 and 2005 the airline flew to both HOU and IAH, though at that point the airline switched all operations to HOU

As Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly described this move:

Southwest owes decades of success to our Employees and Customers who have supported our business in Chicago and Houston. Todays announcement furthers our commitment to both cities as we add service to share Southwests value and Hospitality with more leisure and business travelers.

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More $10 Daily Train Rides

With commuters avoiding daily train trips downtown and back during the COVID-19 pandemic, Metra’s experiment with a $10 all-day pass has proved popular with riders. As a result, the railroad is extending the special pass through March 31. The pass allows unlimited rides on all Metra lines until 3 a.m. the next morning and typically costs less than two one-way tickets. Riders are encouraged to buy the pass with the Ventra app. For information, go to metrarail.

Another Air Travel Option

Although Southwest does now have operations at OHare and may add flights if demand grows Midway will continue to be the airlines anchor in Chicago, Harvey said in the Tribune article.

Indeed, according to data from travel analytics company Cirium, for each Southwest flight planned at OHare next June, there are 15 flights scheduled at Midway where the airline accounts for 90.5 percent of all scheduled passenger flights, the Tribune article reports.

Conversely, Southwest will have a small piece of the air travel market at OHare. United Airlines and American Airlines account for 47 percent and 39 percent respectively of passenger flights scheduled for next June, the Cirium data shows. That means Southwest will have less than two percent of scheduled flights leaving OHare.

What ultimately remains to be seen is whether, as travel recovers when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ease, Southwest will attract new passengers at OHare, or whether theyll wind up attracting the same passengers theyve already been serving at Midway to OHare.

Destinations mentioned in this article:

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Chicago O’hare Airport Flight Terminals

Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are linked together and travellers are able to get to each of them by foot. To get to terminal 5 visitors should take the Airport Transits System situated at bridge level of each Terminal. This also runs to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and parking lot E. At Chicago OHare, Terminal 5 is the international terminal.

Terminal 1There are three levels in Terminal 1 and two concourses where the boarding gates lie.

Pedestrian Tunnel Level – As it sounds, the lowest level in Terminal 1 provides easy access to the pedestrian tunnel that links Terminals 1,2 and 3. The bus/shuttle center is also on this level and this is where hotel courtesy shuttles, regional buses, off-site rental cars and off-site parking shuttles are based. The CTA is also on this level, where trains leave for downtown Chicago. The parking garage is also accessible here.

Lower Level – This is where the baggage claim areas and other ground transportation services are based, these are: Airport Express, Rental Cars , Taxi, Charter Buses, Suburban and Reserved Taxis and Reserved Limousines.

Upper Level – This level is where the passenger gates, shops and restaurants are located. The airports ATS is on this level, transporting passengers around different parts of the airport pre-security it is also possible to walk to Terminal 2 from this level post-security. Gates B1-B22 are in Concourse B and gates C1-C32 are in Concourse C, the two are connected by a passageway.

Southwest Reveals Chicago Ohare Colorado Springs Routes

Southwest Airlines has revealed the routes it will fly from Chicagos OHare International Airport and Colorado Springs.

The low-cost airline will launch 20 daily flights out of OHare on Valentines Day 2021. City pairs include Nashville, Tenn. Denver Dallas Baltimore and Phoenix. Nashville, Dallas and Nashville will be served four times daily from OHare, while Denver will see six daily flights and Phoenix will get two.

Southwest has never flown out of OHare its Chicago operations are currently centered at Midway Airport but says that the travel dropoff caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic gave it an opening to expand to OHare, the larger of the two airports. Midway will remain Southwests primary hub in Chicago with 200 flights per day in the coming months. But Southwest says that adding OHare gives travelers more options, especially when business travelers who more often fly from OHare gradually return to the skies.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that Southwests OHare operations are meant to complement the airlines Midway operations. Capacity restraints limit how much more Southwest can grow at Midway, so moving to OHare is the only way for Southwest to expand its Chicago market.

If we dont move now, we risk never getting in there, Kelly said.

A Southwest 737-800 approaches Dallas Love Field.

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Questions We Hear The Most

The average flight time from Chicago to Phoenix is 3 hours 49 minutes.

There are 79 weekly flights from Chicago to Phoenix on Southwest Airlines.

Yes, Southwest flies nonstop from Chicago to Phoenix 2 times per day from Monday through Friday.

Yes, Southwest flies nonstop from Chicago to Phoenix 3 times per day on Saturdays and 2 times per day on Sundays.

To find the lowest fares by day and time to fly Chicago to Phoenix with Southwest, check out our Low Fare Calendar.

You can rent a car at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airportbook yours with your flight.

Yes! Flights from Chicago to Phoenixor from here or there to anywherecan be changed with no change fees. Fare difference may apply.

A New Southwest Airlines

These two cities come in a shift in network planning philosophies at WN. In previous times, Southwest focused on s cities with a sustained market share throughout the year. They also tended to shy away from mega-hubs, usually resorting to smaller airports near-by. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, they are looking for all possible ways to increase revenue.

Earlier this year, Southwest announced seasonal flights to Colorado ski resort cities, Montrose and Hayden , with service to only DEN and DAL. They also announced service to Palm Springs . Although this is a very seasonal destination, the airline announced that they would serve the airport year-round.

Last month, Southwest announced a resumption of service to Houston-Bush/Intercontinental after a 16-year hiatus as well as new service to Miami . Along with OHare, these new destinations are very indicative of the times considering Southwest maintains hubs at secondary airports at all of these metro areas. These new cities are meant to be purely spokes for Southwest, focusing purely on the local market and tourism.

Southwest is now also venturing into smaller cities like Savannah, GA and Jackson, MS , in addition to COS. Previously, the airline believed that some of these markets were just far too small to sustain a Southwest operation of at least 10 flights per day, but are now reconsidering heavily due to the pandemic.

Featured Photo: Southwest Boeing 737-700

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Routes To Colorado Springs

In addition to OHare, Southwest also announced new services to Colorado Springs. Flights to Chicago , Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix launch on March 11 with 13 total daily flights to the five destinations combined.

Southwest already has a significant presence in Denver, and adding Colorado Springs provides an entrance in Colorados Front Range region, a roughly 175-mile long corridor from Pueblo Fort Collins.

Southwest is currently operating far fewer flights than it did a year ago. In the fourth quarter of 2020, it opted to fly 35% less than in 2019s fourth quarter. But Kelly hopes the airline can return to 2019 levels by the end of 2021, a far-faster recovery than the three to four years many analysts expect.

The airline is also planning new flights from Houston Intercontinental Jackson, Miss. and Savannah, Ga., but exact city pairs from those new airports have yet to be announced.

Southwest Airlines Entrance To Chicago Ohare And Houston Intercontinental Puts United On The Defensive

The trail of two aircraft crossing paths represents the intense competition for travelers in the … airline business. Southwest made an aggressive but logical move into two big United hub airports.

getty

LUV has always been aggressive, and their strong balance sheet has encouraged them to continue this trend even during a travel-depressed time. The recent announcement to start service at Chicagos OHare airport and Houstons Intercontinental airport comes as space finally became available at these facilities to allow Southwest to build a sizable presence. They flew to IAH in the past, but left the airport in 2005 as they focused on building their presence at Houstons Hobby airport.

Given that Southwest is already a large player in the Houston market with Hobby airport and in the Chicago market at Midway airport, will their entrance to the larger ORD and IAH facilities really upset the apple cart much? The answer is yes, as with a relatively small amount of service, Southwest can make inroads into whatever domestic business travel returns to the skies and reprice many markets. The big loser here will be United, with large hub operations at both ORD and IAH.

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List Of Southwest Airlines Destinations

As of November 2021, Southwest Airlines has scheduled flights to over 100 destinations in 42 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the newest being Eugene, Oregon on August 29, 2021. The airline has 15 focus cities and operates over 4,000 flights each day.

Other Airlines Also Experienced Issues

Delta told CNN in a statement that its teams were working to quickly address a technical issue that made it difficult for customers to purchase flights on Delta.com, the Fly Delta app and through the companys Reservation Call Center.

The ability to check in for flights was not affected, according to the statement.

Alaska Airlines also experienced issues Monday. In a tweet to a customer, the airline said that its booking page is down. Our team is working hard to get this resolved.

A message on the Alaska Airlines booking page read, We are currently experiencing issues that affect shopping at alaskaair.com, our mobile app and through our contact center. We are actively working with our partner that powers our shopping platform to resolve the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

CNN reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment but has not yet heard back.

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