Airlines Battle At Busy Illinois Airport: What To Know

It's being called an "air war".

It's not uncommon to see some of the biggest U.S. airlines playfully take jabs at each other on social media. As the consumer, we're entertained by that.

But that's not the vibe at Chicago O'Hare.

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According to Chicago station WGN, American Airlines is suing the City of Chicago. They're arguing that the airport's plan to give about 6 of O'Hare's gates to United Airlines (which is headquartered in Chicago, remember) is part of a plan to "marginalize" American and is a violation of their lease agreement.

Both American and United have hubs at O'Hare and both of them have new aircraft, destinations, and offerings specifically for Chicago. United recently opened a Polaris lounge for premium international flyers.

Meanwhile, United is trying to intervene in American's lawsuit against Chicago, arguing that the gates were under-utilized and that the lawsuit is “dressed up as a contract claim… [but] amounts to a desperate attack against American’s chief rival at O’Hare."

Drama.

Stats show that United operates 48% of departures at O'Hare while American Airlines has 35%. Both of them expect the summer to bring record travel levels out of Chicago O'Hare.

But travel experts say the competition between United and American at O'Hare is good for travelers, as it gives us more destinations, more flight options, and lower prices.

O'Hare is already one of the big hub airports in the country, but they're even adding on to that, with construction starting recently on new satellite concourses and a global terminal (which means more gates by 2034).

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