United Airlines and American Airlines continue to battle fiercely over gates at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), with both carriers vying for growth in one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs. While the details matter, the good news is that consumers will ultimately benefit no matter who wins the war.

The Ongoing Gate Battle Between United And American At Chicago O’Hare: Where Do Things Stand?

This gate battle between Chicago’s two largest carriers is escalating and currently sits in a complex state:

• United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently mocked American Airlines in leaked internal slides (leaked by JonNYC), pointing out American’s comparatively weaker operational performance at ORD and claiming that American often cancels more flights there than its competitors.
• American Airlines previously filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of Chicago of improperly favoring United Airlines when distributing gates at O’Hare, arguing that this preferential treatment undermined competition.
• American has now dropped its federal lawsuit, choosing instead to escalate its legal challenge in local Illinois courts, potentially hoping to leverage more favorable local political sentiment.
• At issue are gate allocations after an expansion in Terminal 3.
• Chicago city officials have allocated some of these highly coveted gates to United Airlines, which American alleges unfairly restricts its growth, limits consumer choice, and violates contractual agreements.

In short, United aims to expand its already substantial hub at ORD, and American seeks to maintain (and ideally grow) its market share.

My Take: Competition Is Healthy—Consumers Ultimately Win

I’ve previously expressed my views clearly on this topic. You can revisit my thoughts here: United And American Battle For Gates At Chicago O’Hare.

While View From The Wing really gets into the weeds on the legal matters at play, I’ll take a broader look at this matter.

Of course, robust competition is crucial: vigorous competition between airlines benefits travelers. Increased competition means:

• More flights
• Better prices
• Enhanced schedules
• Additional destinations

I also anticipate American Airlines will prevail eventually in clawing a gate or two back. But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture that consumers are ultimately going to win no matter what happens.

United Airlines expanding its presence at O’Hare is hardly detrimental to consumers; more routes and more destinations serve travelers’ interests. If American expands its footprint at ORD, travelers similarly win. Ideally, gate allocation should fairly reflect each airline’s historical presence, current operations, and future commitments…but that’s ultimately not my concern.

Instead, my concern is simply the expansion of flight options at ORD. Even if United continues to build its lead over American and the City of Chicago is helping United’s cause in a desperate bid to keep corporate headquarters in Chicago rather than moving to Denver, I love how United has grown…that benefits conusmers regardless of what American Airlines does.

This gate fight underscores the need for Chicago officials to transparently demonstrate that gate allocations are not politically or arbitrarily driven. United Airlines should have every right to maximize its ORD operations, just as American Airlines should be entitled to a fair share of gates and the competitive opportunities they provide. I am not siding with United here…

But while a resolution that favors transparent and equitable competition is the best outcome, I’m thankful that any outcome will support consumers because more gates will mean more flights and with the two carriers at war, both are actively growing in the Windy City. Don’t lose sight of that.

CONCLUSION

The battle over gates at Chicago O’Hare between United Airlines and American Airlines remains heated. While American Airlines continues its legal fight in Illinois courts after dropping federal litigation, my focus is on consumer benefits. Both United and American can and should have ample opportunity to grow in Chicago, because in the end, it’s the traveling public who benefits most from healthy airline competition. The very fight itself, regardless of what happens, is pushing both AA and UA to add more flights on larger aircraft from Chicago. Consumers will win either way this battle ends. In some sense, I want it to drag on so that both carriers will continue to invest in ORD…

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