Is Southwest’s O’Hare Experiment Going Ok?

We flew Southwest into O’Hare for the first time this weekend, and it didn’t go all that well. To be fair, part of the problem was that the plane was scorching and that a well-muscled man beside me was verbally expressing his frustrations with various situations, both of which are things that could happen in airports other than O’Hare, and really just served in this instance to amplify the discomfort of the existing situation. But at the same time…

They couldn’t get that thing to the gate.

Already slightly delayed, Southwest got us stuck on the tarmac for…twenty minutes? More? It was like they were struggling to read the map. Then, on our flight back, a similar situation happened on the way out to the runway. We just sat there. Idling. Like a car in a parking lot with a driver trying to get their dead phone to charge enough to turn back on so they can find the exact address they’re going to, instead of just their vague recollection of that address.

I’m not saying this to complain. Air travel is mind-blowing, and I’m getting more out of it than I put in.

I’m saying this to ask: Is Southwest’s O’Hare experiment going ok?

My impression is that Southwest’s whole reason for not going into airports like O’Hare in the first place is that the inconsistency and potential longevity of taxi time makes it more difficult to keep their quick turnarounds, which in turn keep their fleet more productive. My impression is also that Southwest looked around during the pandemic and said, “Hey, those airports are pretty open right now. Let’s fly ‘em,” and now they fly into O’Hare but it’s opening back up so whoopsie the tarmac is crawling again.

I turned to Google this morning to see if there’d been any actual examinations of Southwest’s experience at O’Hare, hoping for something more concrete than my own hypothesizing. I didn’t find anything like that, but I did find this article about how a Southwest plane collided with a cargo jet on Saturday at O’Hare??? On the day between our flights??? And while I suppose that isn’t damning, it’s definitely not a good sign.

Flying that route again in a few weeks. Will let you know if we hit any other planes.