Direct Service Austin to Chicago?

[el_loco_grande]

I'm a weekly traveler from austin to chicago and back and have enjoyed the early morning direct flight from AUS to MDW for a few years and then suddenly January 1 2018 with no notice, it's gone! I thought it might be temporary or seasonal but here it is almost April and it looks like it's not coming back.

That flight was full 9 times out of 10 and so I don't understand what happened to it. Perfect commuter flight for those of us who live in Austin and work in Chicago. What  happened and what can be done? Is there a way to submit a "give us back our flight!" request with enough interested travelers? 

Ive had to switch my work schedule and meetings significantly and am flying mostly American and United to chicago now and it SUCKS. I'm A-list Preferred and have a Companion Pass, but this may be the last year for that if I have to abandon loyalty to Southwest. 

Signed,

Crammed into 18F on a crappy AA flight. 

[bec102896]

Hello

i hate schedule changes to hopefully when they release the next schedule they will add the austin to Chicago early morning flight as I have taken it several times myself and it was great not sure why they are taking it away but looks like it's still there until summer time which is when I notice it going to a 10am flight 

hope it comes back for you and I as i will miss it too

Blake 

[LindseyD]

@el_loco_grande,

We feel for you! Currently, we don't have a way to formally submit a request to bring a flight route back, but voicing your preferences here and to Customer Relations does help. I can't guarantee your early morning AUS/MDW flight will return to the schedule, but I can certainly share the feedback with our partners over in Network Planning. They are tasked with creating schedules that serve the greatest number of Customers with a limited number of aircraft - a challenging task to be sure. 

Still, I hate to think of you crammed into a crummy seat on a non-SWA flight, and we certainly don't want to see a loyal ALP/CP Customer leave. I hope we're able to provide a flight that accommodates your schedule better soon!