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United Airlines is further expanding its footprint in Chicago with its largest schedule ever from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The airline is planning to operate 750 flights per day this summer from the Windy City. That is roughly 200 more than American Airlines and underscores the scale of United’s investment in its hometown hub.
Over the course of 2026, United will fly nonstop from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to 222 destinations. This includes 47 international cities and 175 in the United States. The network spans Europe, Asia, and South America and further solidifies Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) as the premier Midwestern global gateway.
Starting in April, United will strengthen regional connectivity with five new nonstop routes to/from:
- Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI) (4x daily; starts on April 30th)
- Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) (4x daily; starts on April 30th)
- La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE) (4x daily; starts on April 30th)
- Lansing’s Capital Region International Airport (LAN) (4x daily; starts on May 7th)
- University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) (4x daily; starts on April 30th)
These additions follow late-2025 announcements for new flights to destinations such as Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), Eugene Airport (EUG), Tri-Cities Airport (TRI), Erie International Airport (ERI), Rochester International Airport (RST), Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA), and Sawyer International Airport (MQT).
Beyond new lines on the map, United will also grow frequencies to more than 80 markets. These include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Nashville International Airport (BNA), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO). With this expanded schedule, Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is expected to become the third-largest hub operated by any US airline. Delta holds the top spot currently with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and American is number two with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
United will also operate summer service from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) between June 8th and June 27th for international soccer matches. With this addition, the airline will offer nonstop service to all 16 cities hosting matches during the 2026 tournament.
Operational performance has become a key competitive differentiator at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). United led major carriers in on-time performance in 2025, while passengers flying American at the airport were nearly 2x as likely to experience a cancellation. United averaged 541 daily departures from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) last year. This was 31% more than American. It flew more seats from Chicago than at any time in the past 20 years. American is not taking this lying down. It grew its total seats out of Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) by nearly 23% versus the same period in 2025.
To support this growth and operational reliability, United expects to hire approximately 2,500 additional employees in Chicago this year. The airline’s Chicago workforce has already expanded to more than 18,000 employees over the past decade.
Customer amenities are improving as well. Passengers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) have access to five United Club locations and a redesigned United Polaris Lounge, in addition to a growing fleet of aircraft featuring seatback entertainment, larger overhead bins, Bluetooth connectivity, and complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus® members. During the summer schedule, more than 370 of the airline’s daily departures from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) will be on mainline aircraft. This represents a 20% increase versus last summer.
United’s commitment extends beyond the airport, with partnerships involving six of Chicago’s eight professional sports teams, nearly 30 nonprofit organizations, and company executives serving on roughly 10 Chicago-based boards. The combination of expanded flying, infrastructure investment, and community partnerships reflects the airline’s long-term view that being a leading carrier also means supporting the city that makes its global growth possible.
United’s Vice President of ORD, Omar Idris, said: We have spent the past decade building and executing a strategy that is focused on winning brand loyal customers by giving them more value when they fly United – and nowhere is that more apparent than in Chicago. This growth at O’Hare highlights our commitment to invest in our network, customers and hiring in the city we call home.”
United CEO, Scott Kirby, has said that Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is only big enough for United to have a hub there and it’s quite clear that he is trying to put as much pressure on American Airlines as possible. This is partially motivated by business (Chicago represents a large part of United’s revenue) and also based on some bad blood that still exists from Kirby’s American Airlines exit.
Anthony’s Take: As someone who spends a lot of the year at home in Chicago, this is good news. I’ll have more choices and fares will drop if American begins pushing back and capacity further increases. I have my popcorn ready and am enjoying watching this one play out.
(Image Credits: United Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
