United and American Airlines are doubling down on flights out of O’Hare International Airport, which has become the stage setting of a market-share competition between its two largest airlines.

On Tuesday, United announced it would add new daily routes to five smaller midwestern cities: Champaign/Urbana; Bloomington/Normal; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Lansing, Mich. and La Crosse, Wis.

The announcement came after American said last week it would add flights from Chicago to Allentown, Penn., Columbia, S.C. and Maui.

Last year, the two airlines were involved in a legal battle over gates at O’Hare, which led to United emerging with five new gates. American lost four, but has since picked up two via Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy proceedings.

Under the city’s gate reallocation process, gates at O’Hare are allocated based on an airline’s flying frequency the previous year. The city has touted that policy as one that keeps competition active at O’Hare, which is in the early stages of a massive $8.2 billion revamp.

Indeed, both American and United have indicated they’re keen on upping their presence at Chicago’s largest airport, which overtook Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson to become the busiest airfield in the country last year, according to preliminary federal data. Atlanta’s airport still had the lead on passenger totals.

At the end of last year, American said it was beefing up its spring 2026 schedule at O’Hare by 30% over last year’s, with plans to double service to popular spring break destinations like Las Vegas.

And on Tuesday, United also said it would add flights to existing O’Hare-based routes, including to Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The airline, O’Hare’s largest, will reach about 750 flights per day this summer, it said. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/united-american-ohare-gates/