With five new gates at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), United Airlines has announced new destinations and increased service to existing destinations.
United Airlines Adds Ten New Destinations From Chicago O’Hare After Securing Five New Gates
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) has reallocated gate space at O’Hare under a process outlined in the 2018 lease agreement, which rewards carriers that demonstrate strong growth and efficient gate use. United says its performance at ORD “was rightfully recognized” under that system, allowing it to claim five additional gates that took effect October 1, 2025.
This week, United announced ten new destinations will launch from O’Hare in 2026, including several markets where the carrier will have exclusive nonstop service. Daily service begins next spring to:
- Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
- Lynchburg, Virginia (LYH)
- Marquette, Michigan (MQT)
- Paducah, Kentucky (PAH)
- Rochester, Minnesota (RST)
- Santa Barbara, California (SBA)
- Wausau, Wisconsin (CWA)
Next summer, United will also add Saturday-only flights to:
- Idaho Falls, Idaho (IDA)
- Monterey, California (MRY)
- St. George, Utah (SGU)
In addition, several seasonal or weekend-only routes will become daily next summer, including:
- Aruba (AUA)
- Hilton Head, South Carolina (HHH)
- Halifax, Nova Scotia (YHZ)
- Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)
- Sun Valley, Idaho (SUN)
United Keeps Growing At ORD
United attributed the new gate allocation to its “record-breaking performance” at O’Hare, noting it accounted for 99% of the airport’s total seat growth this year compared to 2019. The airline recently hired more than 2,000 local employees and plans to add 5,400 more by 2027, bringing its Chicagoland workforce to over 18,000.
“We look forward to utilizing the new gates we earned,” the carrier told employees in a memo reviewed by Live And Let’s Fly. “With these new additional gates, we can grow even more and accelerate our investments at our hometown airport.”
> Read More: Chicago O’Hare Turf War – United And American Fight For Gates
CONCLUSION
United’s Chicago hub remains a competitive battle with American Airlines, but this latest expansion underscores its long-term confidence in O’Hare. I arrived at one of these gates last week, and it still feels like you’re in American Airlines territory!
The addition of ten new destinations and more gate space strengthens United’s position as the dominant carrier at one of the world’s busiest airports and suggests there’s still plenty of growth left in Chicago’s skies.
Nice to see SBA-ORD is back! I recall they briefly had this non-stop service a few years but it was dropped.
Cool. Hey, since we’re talking United… uh, why don’t they finally allow elevated lounge access for transcon Polaris… like, I’m sorry, but if American can provide Flagship lounge access and Delta can offer DeltaOne on departure AND arrival… United should totally be offering Polaris for it’s premier routes between EWR-SFO/LAX. C’MON!
The problem is there just isn’t the capacity in EWR Polaris Lounge. I think LAX and SFO would be okay.
At EWR, the capacity issues are mostly in the evenings; so, why not open it up for mornings, have a cut-off by 4PM. Just saying, they could do more and better with that, if UA wanted to elevate their ‘experience’ with the competition.
I guess it’s good to add St George, Utah, but that means Zion National Park and southwest Utah are way too popular and crowded. The amount of visitors to Zion has skyrocketed. The country is getting way too crowded. There isn’t an unlimited amount of space at the national parks. Now you have to get a lottery permit to hike Angels Landing. I am glad Trump is giving priority to citizens. I am not sure if that has started yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if soon you will have to make a reservation at some national parks just to go into them so the crowds are kept down.
Why do they have flights to Hilton Head? Savannah is close enough. I think the flights would make a lot of noise on the isalnd.
Certainly not good news for the folks at AA headquarters in Fort Worth …
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
I’m so glad that they are back at RST and CWA. I started my loyalty with United due to them having the most options in my area. They ended up dropping everything that was within two hours drive time but have since returned to EAU. This is exciting news and will help secure my loyalty as I have been straying for convenience.
It’s about time we have that Paducah flight! Now I can get to the quilting museum much faster.
#winning!