Monday Medley

Mom and Dad are Fighting Again / Southwest Overhead Overheards / Lightning Top 3

Let’s get this out of the way first. I fell asleep during the Super Bowl. While the game wasn’t that exciting, it still says more about me than the game.

That sad fact aside, let’s talk about some industry news that caught my eye.

A Good Old-Fashioned Billboard War¹

O’Hare Airport (ORD) has been the site of a decades-long battle for supremacy between American and United. While United is technically Chicago’s hometown airline due to its headquarters in The Loop (for now), American’s presence in Chicago has long been a force to be reckoned with, not to mention its prominent product placement in Home Alone and Home Alone 2.²

While one could argue that AA had the upper hand over the years due to some infamous UA missteps, it’s now UA that has the advantage.³

And they’re not holding back.

Now it’s one thing to have 750 departures from ORD this summer to try to own the market. It’s another to start taking copywriting shots on prominently placed billboards in the aforementioned Loop.

There’s snarky, and then there’s using your competitor’s trademarked brand name snarky.

While I’m firmly of the belief that karma is very real in the airline biz, the former marketer in me loves that the team at UA has gotten to do this. Most people in airline advertising spend their days wondering how to create inspiring messages for an often uninspiring product. That’s way less fun than writing mean-spirited puns.

Game on.

Assigned Seating Overhead Bin Armageddon

Speaking of the Super Bowl, Southwest spent big bucks on an ad showcasing their recently launched assigned seating. Reviews were mixed.

Southwest’s ad made fun of the decades-old open seating policy they had until, um, two weeks ago? (Image Credit: Southwest)

What’s not mixed is the feedback I’ve gotten from very loyal WN top-tier flyers. It’s clear that the new assigned seating process has created the infamous “early boarding overhead bin scramble” that is a feature on the other big US carriers.⁴ Southwest A-list members never used to have the fear that other carrier elites did — the crippling panic that if you missed your early boarding group/zone/area, you may have to put your bag several rows behind you or, even worse, check it.

On top of the overhead bags issue, there is the chance that a late flight change may result in the dreaded 33E seat assignment.⁵ Good thing business travelers don’t make last-minute changes — oh wait.

The final piece to all this is that Southwest is not the default cheapest option wherever they fly. In fact, my very unofficial research for Spring Break flights shows them to be the most expensive option on many routes. A lot of WN flyers simply go straight to them (and no one else) based on that assumption. Now that other charges are in the mix, we’ll see if that changes.

There will be some case histories written about these changes — it’ll be interesting to see where they net out.

Quick Top 3 ORD Restaurants, Go!

Since Al on the Airlines is back on the road this week, time for a quick airport restaurant ranking using our proprietary methodology.⁶

1. The Billy Goat
Some might feel guilt and shame enjoying a Billy Goat bacon, egg and cheese or double cheeseburger in the Jazz Food Court. I am not one of those people.

This is Chicago. Push past “Saladworks” and get to the Goat.

2. Wicker Park Sushi
Used to be number one, but post-COVID they got way more expensive and even worse, they changed the recipe of the Hot Night Roll. Still good and fast (especially with a corporate card).

3. Any of the hot dog/pizza stands on the concourse
Chances are you won’t have time to sit down anywhere because you’re running to make your connection, so make use of the multiple quick locations.

Honorable Mention
Cubs and/or Blackhawks Bar for authentic Midwestern early morning drinking before a.m. Caribbean/Florida departures

Please
Tortas Frontera — yeah, it’s great, but unless you have a four-hour layover, good luck

Notes

1. This brings me back to my time in Atlanta when Delta and AirTran (RIP) fought bitter battles over billboard placement on the I-75/I-85 Connector which, unfortunately for the marketing department, 90% of DL executives drove home each day

2. RIP, Catherine O’Hara

3. I could do thousands of words on the Summer of 2000 and the years-long effect that had on United’s Chicago-based customers — it took a long time for UA to recover

4. Once again proving that these moves are making Southwest just like the other airlines (and not in a good way)

5. As a former non-revenue passenger flying standby, I always used to say, “E is for employ-eeee”

6. There is no methodology