United Airlines launches five Chicago route expansion plans, increasing the number of routes to 80
Less than a week ago, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby vowed to “dissociate” himself from American Airlines. American Airlines, its biggest competitor at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), has been rapidly adding flights to its Midwest hub since last summer.
The next day, American Airlines added three more routes from the Windy City.
United are not sitting idly by.
The Chicago-based airline announced Tuesday that it plans to operate its largest-ever flights from O’Hare Airport in 2026, with 750 daily departures once the summer peak season begins.
It’s the latest in a series of “one-off moves” by the two airlines, which have been making adjustments – removing shadows and adding flights – for months.
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United’s latest ORD expansion includes five new routes and service to smaller cities in the Midwest: Lansing and Kalamazoo, Michigan; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and the Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal, Illinois metro areas.
In addition, United said it will add daily flights to O’Hare Airport to 80 cities across the country.
“Places like Los Angeles, and places like Lexington, Kentucky. Places like Dallas, Texas. And places like Dayton, Ohio,” United chief network planner Patrick Quayle said on a conference call to discuss the airline’s plans.
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O’Hare takes center stage in airline turf war
For months, O’Hare Airport has been the site of one of the airline industry’s most hotly contested turf wars.
United is clearly the top airline at the airport, especially after the pandemic and American Airlines (which also has an O’Hare hub) has been slow to add schedules (American Airlines has chosen to focus on Sunbelt hubs like Dallas and Charlotte).
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But starting in mid-2025, American Airlines began to rapidly increase its capacity in ORD.
That’s set to continue into 2026: The Fort Worth-based airline will have nearly 23% more seats outside airports in the first half of this year than a year ago, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
American Airlines also recently gained access to multiple doors in Chicago at the expense of Manchester United.
Kirby said of Manchester United:
“We will add as many flights as necessary to ensure that we maintain the same number of gates in Chicago,” he vowed during the company’s earnings call last week.
United Airlines expands 5 Chicago routes
United didn’t have to wait long.
Here’s a rundown of the five new routes the airline is adding to its O’Hare schedule – all regional service served by United Express aircraft:
| route | Start date and frequency | notes |
|---|---|---|
|
ORD to Champaign-Urbana, IL (CMI)
|
April 30, four round trips daily |
Previously flown in 2018 |
|
ORD to Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO), Michigan
|
April 30, four round trips daily |
Flying in 2021-22 |
|
ORD to Lansing, MI (LAN)
|
May 7, four round trips daily |
Flying in 2021-22 |
|
ORD to La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE), Wisconsin
|
May 7, four round trips daily |
|
|
ORD flies to Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington-Normal (CMI)
|
May 7, four round trips daily |
Perhaps not coincidentally, all of these are American Airlines’ current routes from Chicago.
United was already on track to expand its Chicago schedule in 2026; Cirium reported ahead of Tuesday’s announcement that the airline would have 12% more seats flying out of O’Hare in the first half of this year than last year.
Kirby noted last week that the airline does not plan to pursue additional gates at the airport, but does intend to prevent its biggest rival in Chicago from winning more at its own expense.
Tuesday’s airport expansion is apparently part of that effort.
overall view
United loudly claims that it now leads Chicago consumers when it comes to airline preference.
“People are choosing to fly United,” Quayle said before Tuesday’s announcement. “The price of choosing to fly United’s premium product is significantly higher than American.”
Last spring, Airports Council International ranked ORD as the fourth busiest hub in the United States based on passenger traffic through 2024.
But O’Hare had more flight departures last year than any other U.S. airport, according to Cirium. That’s largely thanks to United and American Airlines competing to add flights to the hub.
Generally speaking, more competition is good for customers because it means more flight options and usually results in lower average airfares. Of course, tougher competition is generally less popular among airline executives.
In this Chicago showdown, Southwest also has a major base in the area, at nearby Midway Airport (MDW).
Looking to the future
American Airlines is expected to hold its latest earnings call on Tuesday morning, which will have a lot to say about its Chicago strategy.
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