Southwest announced new direct non-stop service from JAX to MDW (Chicago Midway) yesterday. American and United has offered the same service for some time off and on, typically on 85 seat CRJ's.
One daily non-stop is currently planned.
The press release can be found here:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southwest-airlines-and-airtran-airways-announce-new-markets-in-october-flight-schedule-194855161.html (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southwest-airlines-and-airtran-airways-announce-new-markets-in-october-flight-schedule-194855161.html)
Oh yeah, you beat me to it :D
I saw that the other day that is nice And I believe we also have American straight to O'Hare.
One daily nonstop flight between Jacksonville and Chicago (as low as $149 one-way).
Not the greatest price.
^What price range do you typically find flights between Jax and Chicago?
$149 seems about right for midway...
Just looked: the average RT fare to O'Hare is between $325 and $360
Prices are high right now because of the time of year, but I usually pay between $220 and $260 roundtrip. I've paid as low as $160 rt but those fares seem to be gone.
Southwest is stripping out some duplication in their network post AirTran merger.
This means excess planes looking for new routes to take on and available gates to service them.
Also remember, Southwest doesn't charge extra for checked luggage, a boon for family travelers, but meaningless for most business flyers. So while the prices appear noncompetitive on the cover, for a certain market they are appealing.
Southwest may be jumping on the fee bandwagon here shortly. The CEO made some comments in the analyst calls that they are actively looking for a way to increase fee revenue.
The only benefit I can see is that you will be able to get a slightly better seat (737-800) for your money with no stops over the CRJ's from AA that ply the same route and avoid the ATL plane hop.
I will see if it has value if I can connect to west coast flights better out of Midway. Otherwise its a better bus trip.