Scott Kirby’s gambit has failed. United Airlines isn’t going to push American out of Chicago after all. In fact, American Airlines is poised to get back 3 gates at O’Hare airport, based on a new preliminary determination by the city.
- Last year United Airlines gained 5 gates and American Airlines lost 4 gates.
- Each year, the city is supposed to notify airlines about common use and preferential use gate allocations. Those are tied to prior year schedules.
- American began rebuilding its O’Hare operations last year. United said in January that they expected American to be awarded three gates this year as a result.
American Airlines is poised to win back three gates that it lost at O’Hare International Airport, while rival United Airlines is expected to give up three gates in the latest round of reshuffling space at the airport.
…The new allocation of gates, issued March 30, is preliminary and doesn’t factor in Southwest Airlines’ decision to stop serving O’Hare, where it had three gates in Terminal 5, in June. United and American operate in terminals 1, 2 and 3.
American Airlines will regain 3 gates. They bought two gates from Spirit Airlines, which I was first to report. As a result, American should have a net gain of one gate at O’Hare compared to a year ago.
While American has argued persuasively that last year’s reallocation shouldn’t have happened under the Airport Use and Lease Agreement – that the first reallocation shouldn’t occur until at least April 1, 2027, because gate additions were supposed to have been complete and used for a year first – it seems to me that American escapes unharmed, at least as long as the FAA’s flight caps at the airport hold.
American has been able to operate the flights it wants out of the gates that it has, and isn’t being permitted to grow beyond last summer’s levels anyway. That suggests there aren’t really any damages from the early gate re-allocation.
This also suggests that United’s arguments that the FAA should have taken into account gate reallocations in deciding flight caps (allowing United to grow, and forcing American to shrink) is largely wrong because those reallocations are mostly being reversed.
United will still be up one gate from the reallocation, and one gate they acquired from Spirit. So that’s two more gates than before, versus one more for American, sligtly widening their lead at the airport.
American is refreshing its L concourse club at the airport, and has woken up to the importance of the Chicago market for its Citibank credit card partnership.
Unless United is able to overturn the FAA order limiting flights, it looks like their CEO Scott Kirby’s gambit to force American to de-hub O’Hare did not work.
(HT: Enilria)
Bahaha. Suck it Scott.
@Tim Dunn, do tell us, how is this good for Delta?
The story is not over—United will prevail
@trk1 — “Unless United is able to overturn the FAA order limiting flights” …so, how much will United need to ‘bribe’ the grifter-in-chief to get their way here? Surely, a multi-million-dollar ‘donation’ to the presidential library/skyscraper in Miami would suffice.
the way that DL benefits, 1990, is by ORD capacity being capped.
but let’s also be clear how much UA blabbed about pushing AA out.
AA put out very strong guidance for the 2nd quarter as part of its 1st quarter earnings and Wall Street liked it. They, like WN, seem to have turned the corner in generating revenue.
UA has failed to grow or been forced to limit capacity at EWR, ORD and SFO. No other airline has been put under as many growth restrictions as UA.
@Tim Dunn — One thing Delta does right at ORD… The new-ish SkyClub; boarding from the lounge. That is cool.
@Tim Dunn – Wall Street very much did not seem to like Southwest’s story today. AAL up over 2%, LUV down over 4%.
Tim, you said this fight in ORD was good for Delta literally in other posts from Gary, now that the fight is over it can’t also be good for Delta – it doesn’t go both ways. Either competitors are using capacity unprofitably against each other or they aren’t. And well now they aren’t.
“UA failed to grow at EWR, ORD and SFO” – in 2025 UA grew pax 1.8% in NYC (with a lot of that gain from EWR) and Delta… let me see… lost 1.8% – so UA grew while restricted and Delta lost while not restricted? Interesting strategy there. Cirium data also shows United has gained in ORD and SFO? – referring to Cranky’s post here, I don’t have full cirium access so if you do I’d be happy to see the data. But I mean at least with the facts it looks like you are once again wrong Timmy boy!
It really is wild that AA literally asked the authority that determines when the gate allocation occurs at ORD if their understanding of the timing language was correct — the airport in writing agreed with AA then went ahead and started the gate allocation process regardless.
I suppose there are some great benefits to being a Chicago-based Airline at ORD — corruption works in your favor.
@ORD_Is_my_poor_home I don’t think anyone is jealous of your hometown
@MaxPower — I see you summoned our Fine Illinois Brethren! Will he answer the call??
Gary,
Wall Street responded well to AA and DL’s earnings but against UA and WN’s.
they didn’t like UA and WN’s vagueness about full year guidance.
Andy,
AA and UA’s fight at ORD was going to dump lots of capacity into the Midwest where DL is the largest carrier; there is no planet on which anyone can interpret what happened or what I said as being good for DL if AA and UA succeeded at their massive capacity dumps.
and, yes, UA is increasing capacity at EWR by upgauging -exactly what it should do at ORD instead of flying 42 and 50 seat regional jets.
and max is right on this one and perhaps part of why the FAA decided to step in since the admnistration does not exactly have a love affair with Chicago.
No matter how many people try to spin it otherwise, UA has been losing in one strategy after another – exactly what happens when you proclaim yourself far greater than you really are.
and investors who really care only about money and not the drama that fuels aviation social media is panning UA’s strategies in favor of DL in great measure.
UA has wiped out 5 years of stock growth relative to DL in just a couple months.
Oh poor Spectrum Boy, he has a sad. UA is still growing at ORD, just slower, and there are no restrictions on growth. SFO runway restrictions are below daily totals, UA welcomes the EWR caps, and their lead at ORD is massive.
Average daily ASMs:
UA at ORD ~73 million
AA at ORD ~42.5million
Average daily pax at ORD:
UA over 52,000 but AA at 35,000
Average daily revenue at ORD:
UA nearly 11$million and AA at 6million.
It is not even close.
Are you sad DL’s stock is down Spectrum Boy. Georgia Klan Air got another Federal Civil Rights complaint this week, so they are winning that battle LOL
You just have a sad UA beat Delta ‘peave be upon them” for another first quarter. lol Now Dance boy, dance!
Tim, if this was so bad for DL – why did you keep saying it was good for DL on all of the other posts? were you wrong before or are you wrong now? You can choose – I don’t care which but I think its time to admit one of your argument’s is wrong – considering they are complete contradictions.
Ahh let me go check the 5 year DAL/UAL price ratio – an index tracked by all of Wall Street – I see it written in every analyst report as the measure of these two companies – certainly not a ratio you just whipped out of your ass at all hahaha.
So you said UA is growing capacity at EWR – can you just confirm your prior comment “UA has failed to grow or been forced to limit capacity at EWR, ORD and SFO.” – is incorrect then? Which one is correct – are they growing or not growing at EWR? They are also growing at SFO and ORD too but you didn’t address those, probably because you are also wrong.
I mean you keep trying to say they are failing and not growing etc but they just released their best Q1 in history, with the most pax in their Q1 history – so if they are failing at EWR (which we just proved they aren’t), ORD and SFO (which they also aren’t but lets just take your point). Does that mean they are winning massively at IAD, DEN, LAX and IAH? They must be doing a barn stormer in those hubs to be overtaking Delta overall while losing in 3 of their hubs? It is just some simple maths here Timmy (I know its not your strong suit) – if the total is at an all time high – and 3 of their biggest hubs (well EWR and ORD are, SFO is a bit smaller) are down as you say then the other hubs must be up massively – they only compete against DL directly in 2 hubs 1 is NYC (where they are winning) and then other is LAX – which logic says they must be smashing Delta in given these other hubs are “failing” according to you.
So do you mind explaining your logic and telling us how wrong you are?
I’m also curious on your thoughts on why UA is winning in NYC but Delta is losing? I mean the stats are there for everyone to see on the PA Air traffic dashboard – is the dashboard wrong or are you wrong Timmy?
@ Tim — Delta will benefit by getting their very own $50 billion bailout. It’s the Delta way, after all!
Tim, the reason UA and WN are more vague than DL is because it’s two weeks later and a quick resolution in Iran is completely off the table. You think DL has more certainty than the others? They’ve been cutting as much as the others, including several more markets out of JFK, reinforcing their weaker NYC position relative to UA, due in part to an inefficient split NYC hub, with one of the two airports perimeter restricted and RJ heavy.
Why do you never mention that the FAA has restricted DL’s growth at JFK and LGA? Is that not bad for DL? At least UA continues to grow traffic figures in NYC while DL shrinks.
And the ORD limits are temporary. When the construction ends traffic will increase and UA’s dominant position will continue.
Mark,
AA reported one day after UA and Wall Street like their guidance better.
The FAA has not restricted DL’s growth at JFK and LGA. They were slot controlled when DL started ops there and still are; DL actually gained alot of slots at both airports when slot controls were briefly lifted.
You can call a split hub inefficient if you want but DL has 20% more flights in NYC and has the title of largest domestic carrier which is far more significant for credit card. You might think it is more sexy to fly to some off the wall international city for a few weeks per year but I think it is a higher honor for DL to provide more service connecting more of America with America’s largest city and in some cases provides the only service from some cities to NYC.
as for UA’s traffic growth in NYC, of course they can use their flights more efficiently by using larger aircraft; that is exactly what the FAA would love to see them do at ORD and SFO instead of using pesky 42 and 50 seat aircraft.
Typical Timmy DeLulu. Some things never change.
Tim, international is much more important than domestic regarding credit card spend. In interviews, Kirby has said that the flights to Greenland and Mongolia, highlighting how global UA’s reach is, have been so important for the credit cards.
And your statistic of DL operating 20% more flights to carry less passengers highlights how inefficient the operation is a why the earn so much less revenue than UA in NYC.
It’s also why DL has canceled so many routes in NYC, due to the difficulty building feed for them.
And yes, UA uses larger aircraft more efficiently in NYC, allowing them to operate flights DL can’t. Glad we agree on that.
And AA has been viewed as an absolute train wreck. It doesn’t take much for them to provide the smallest bit of relief.
Phuck United and Phuck that short magat Kirby.
@MaxPower:
You stated:
“@ORD_Is_my_poor_home I don’t think anyone is jealous of your hometown”
1- Chicago is a top-tiered city. In fact, it ranks in the top 10 global cities it the world*
*-https://www.kearney.com/service/national-transformations-institute/gcr/2025-full-report
2- I would rather live in Chicago than most cities in the United States.
3- Apropos, which city do YOU live in?
@jacobin777 — I’m sure @MaxPower will get back to you, but… I think he was more throwing-shade at commenter @ORD Is My Second Home, in-particular, rather than besmirching the great city of Chicago, in-general. Then again, maybe it was both… (the plot thickens…)
mark,.
as usual, your arrogance prevents you from seeing actual reality.
The US domestic market matters much more to building value in a credit card/loyalty program than international markets.
US consumers indirectly support much larger loyalty programs through higher interchange fees than in nearly all of the rest of the world.
Amex charges the highest interchange fee which is why Amex and DL will be the largest credit card/loyalty program as long as they want it to be.
UA is not building its domestic system because domestic profits are so great. UA is building its domestic system because they neglected domestic for so long in the name of a large international network that they were TOLD by banks that they weren’t going to have a better credit card program until they carried more domestic passengers and revenue.
AA has a higher valued credit card/loyalty program than UA because AA focuses on domestic to the exclusion of international.
and, yes, flying alot of international provides a place for loyalty program cardholders to spend their earn but it works for DL as much as it does for UA.
Mongolia and Greenland are much smaller markets than HKG and SIN and MNL are. DL will be adding much more of the large cities in Asia because Amex and SkyMiles leadership is saying that is how DL can grow that relationship while AA has to add much smaller and much less rich cities.
DL has the advantage in growing its loyalty program by growing its network.
none of which changes that UA’s strategy of dumping FLIGHTS into EWR, ORD and SFO has failed; UA can grow by upgauging but that means actually flying its network with mainline aircraft rather than clogging the skies w/ regional jets.
and LGA, like DCA is slot controlled and perimeter restricted. Both airports have enormous value because of slot controls including the ability to serve cities from those metros that do not work from EWR, JFK or IAD.
yes, DL has the ability to serve more domestic cities which do deliver better profits than narrowbody transatlantic ops to cities that work for only part of the year.
The actual reality and revenue data, not your incessant need to defend UA, proves that DL’s strategy in NYC and AA’s at WAS delivers better year round revenue and profits than UA’s at NYC, ORD and SFO.
IF UA’s strategy was superior, then they would be beating DL = and AA and WN – on actual operating profits and not accounting gyrations – but that is not happening.
I’ve never said that anyone should be jealous of Chicago. I’ve just said that we’re superior in so many ways to most places, especially the scum-riddled Five Boroughs. It produced me, after all. And I’m on Max’s side when it comes to Timbits. He shouldn’t tick off his allies.
Timbits: Shut. Up. You have said many times that you hate Chicago. Your airline is an afterthought here, stuck in the Eighth Circle Of Hell that is Terminal 5. You have nothing to say about this. This is between UA and AA and significantly impacts those of us like me who fly out of here. You have no opinion to give. So go off and “meditate” with your Ed Bastian waifu pillow.
@1990:
I guess we’ll see. As a former Chicago native, and while I have my criticisms of Chicago, it’s a phenomenal city to grow up in and live in.
@jacobin
Chicago is a beautiful city for three months a year. But seeing as you’ve moved away, you’ve clearly also seen the light that no one needs to live in Antarctica for the other 9 months of the year.
But it’s hard to argue the aldermen system of governance is anything but a mechanism for corruption.
But you do represent most people I know from chicago — love to talk about how great it is (are there people from Other cities that feel the need to defend their city in such a weird way as though it embodies them? I haven’t seen them) but flee as soon as the first war job opens up but then talk about how great chicago is
But it’s a nice city for three months, sure.
The infrastructure whether interstates or the L is either very old or doesn’t support the population — can you really tell me the Kennedy is useful? The people are great but the city simply embodies the term “rust belt” and is just overrun with high cost due to soooo many strange union rules that make doing business difficult relative to other US cities
The ord gate nonsense was just very representative of the city’s corruption. In writing telling AA one thing then doing the opposite shortly after.
*first warm job*
Certainly not War job
@O’Hare Is My Second Home — Here I was… giving you the benefit of the doubt… and then… you just had to throw shade on my city… you FIB! (@MaxPower, am I doing it right??)
@O’Hare Is My Second Home — That said, I try hard to never ‘yuck’ anyone’s ‘yum’ on here, so… I am quite interested in hearing more about Tim’s so-called ‘Ed Bastian waifu pillow.’ Kinky!
1990 at least has the good sense to recognize that letting everyone speak w/o denigrating them is good for social media whether he does it or not.
Chicago and the Chicago metro are not the same thing. There are many wealthy areas of northern Illinois that are well run and affluent and send a lot of high value passengers through/to ORD. It is the City of Chicago that is poorly run and which is running ORD which will create exorbitant costs that will make any airline hubs at ORD problematic.
AA and UA’s competition pushes average fares from ORD down relative to DL’s DTW and MSP hubs. UA desperately wants to monopolize ORD so it can push local fares higher – which is necessary because of the huge costs of the ORD global terminal which AA and UA will predominantly operate and fund.
as for T5, derision doesn’t matter. Whether it works for what DL and other airlines need is all that matters. Homeless doesn’t seem to understand that AA and UA have no choice but to use terminal 5 for their international arrivals and then have a messy connection back to their domestic terminals.
The big 3 are all signatory airliens at most major airports and rarely block what other airlines want to do as long as the carriers that benefit foot the bill.
DL is just fine to let AA and UA rebuild the international terminal as long as AA and UA and their partners foot the bill – which is a big part of why DL is in terminal 5.
If DL was hurt by operating from terminal 5, they would have stayed in terminal 2 or 3 but have repeatedly moved to let AA and UA duke it out between themselves.
“Chicago and the Chicago metro are not the same thing. There are many wealthy areas of northern Illinois that are well run and affluent and send a lot of high value passengers through/to ORD. It is the City of Chicago that is poorly run and which is running ORD which will create exorbitant costs that will make any airline hubs at ORD problematic.”
Chicago suburbs and Chicago are not the same thing, you’re correct, Tim. But this is an aviation forum and the city of Chicago runs ORD so… for the purpose of what I said? Yes. Chicago, Chicagoland, and ORD are synonymous regardless of yield demand. Evanston to Winnetka to Kenilworth are well run and great cities… the city of Chicago? we agree. Corrupt, inefficient, and very poorly run despite how fun North Ave beach is during the summer.
And it really is sad how much Scott Kirby & united have leaned into the corruption of the city of Chicago to advance their interests — to say nothing of Scott’s complete lack of a moral compass when it comes to the White House resident party.
we agree, Max.
Chicagoland which provides traffic for UA at ORD is still a very strong market.
But AA and UA have to deal w/ the City of Chicago as operator of ORD and UA also has to deal w/ Chicago as a taxpayer.
It is the latter reality that will likely push their HDQ out to Chicago; and then part of the claim of being the hometown airline is eliminated.
@Maxpower
Many parts of the United States is cold. In fact, roughly 40%-60% of the US population live in the cold, its not exclusive to Chicago or Chicago politics.* Chicago is “very cold” 3 months of the year – December, January, February – maybe parts of November. Again, in-line with many parts of the country. Spring, summer and fall is incredible in Chicago. Most of the people’s daily life doesn’t include and/or involve “day-to-day” politics. The infrastructure works. The “L” still transports millions of people. Traffic his horrible in ALL major metropolitan cities, especially a city the size of Chicago. As I previously mentioned, there’s some politics which I’m not a fan of. Also, as someone else mentioned, metropolitan Chicago is not all just the city of Chicago proper.
Apropos, you still haven’t mentioned where you live.
* – https://weather.com/news/climate/news/2026-02-20-extreme-cold-weather-reporting-increase-2026