Southwest tweaks routes and fees
Southwest is reshaping its network and fees to protect margins — reports say it’s trimming Chicago O’Hare service, adding flights to Santa Rosa and adjusting bag charges as fuel and inflation bite (analysis filed this week). (finance.yahoo.com).
Southwest Airlines is cutting Chicago O’Hare service, opening up Santa Rosa flying and charging more for checked bags as it tries to lift margins. (nbcchicago.com) The airline told Chicago passengers in March that it will discontinue O’Hare flights on June 4, 2026, and keep serving the region through its larger Chicago Midway operation. Illinois layoff filings later showed 107 employees tied to the O’Hare closure. (nbcchicago.com) (heraldnews.com) At the same time, Southwest began Santa Rosa service on April 7, 2026, after announcing the airport last September. Its initial nonstop routes are Burbank, Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego, giving the carrier a new foothold in Sonoma County wine country. (swamedia.com) (prnewswire.com) Bag fees also moved higher for many travelers. For mainland trips booked, ticketed or changed on or after April 9, 2026, Southwest lists the first checked bag at $45 and the second at $55 on Basic, Choice and Choice Preferred fares, while Choice Extra still includes two free checked bags. (southwest.com) Those changes land in the middle of a broader remake of the airline’s product. Southwest is now selling assigned seating for travel starting January 27, 2026, and has split fares into Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred and Choice Extra bundles with different boarding, seat and bag benefits. (southwest.com 1) (southwest.com 2) Chicago and Santa Rosa show the same playbook from opposite ends. Southwest is leaving a costly, crowded airport where it said operations were challenging, while adding a smaller California airport where it can feed traffic into its network with four nonstop routes. (nbcchicago.com) (swamedia.com) Southwest entered O’Hare in 2021 after years of focusing on Midway, but the airport never became a major station for the airline. The June 4 exit will end that run after about five years. (chicago.suntimes.com) The fee shift is also a break from one of Southwest’s best-known promises. The carrier ended its decades-long two-free-bags policy in 2025, and the April 2026 increase pushes its posted checked-bag prices another $10 higher than the earlier paid-bag structure. (usatoday.com) (southwest.com) For travelers, the immediate calendar is clear: Santa Rosa flights are already on sale and operating, O’Hare service ends June 4, and the new bag prices apply to many bookings changed or bought on or after April 9. (southwest.com) (nbcchicago.com) (southwest.com)
