OCTOBER 7, 2024
United Airlines nears 20-year high at O’Hare The Chicago-based carrier has boosted flying from its hub By John Pletz
analysis by Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth. It’s part of the United Next playbook Kirby and then-CEO Oscar Munoz drew up before the pandemic. It’s been tweaked along the way to deal with shifting travel patterns, including less-frequent business trips, a tight hiring market for pilots and mechanics, higher-than-normal pay increases for the rank-andfile, and serious delays in getting new planes. United’s boost in the number of seats it's flying in and out of Chicago to the highest level since 2004 is a vote of confidence in O’Hare, which is about to spend billions of dollars and several years constructing new terminals that will increase the gate space available for parking aircraft by about 25%. “It answers skeptics who worried that O’Hare is a mature hub without much growth potential,” says Joe Schwieterman, a DePaul University professor and transportation expert. “This sets the stage for more international flying at O’Hare. I expect American to grow to protect its market as United kicks into high gear.” American Airlines jump-started
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United Airlines is flying more capacity from O’Hare International Airport than at any time in the past 20 years. CEO Scott Kirby pushed the throttle coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to regain market share lost over decades to rivals. He’s wooing well-heeled travelers while also taking aim at leisure markets such as Florida, as well as businessheavy routes such as New York, Atlanta and Dallas. United also is adding frequency to small markets, such as Peoria. As a result, the Chicago-based carrier will be flying 5% more seats to and from O’Hare this month than it did in 2019, before the pandemic hit the U.S., and 17% more than it did a decade ago. United’s capacity at O’Hare, where it’s the largest carrier, will be up 12% in the fourth quarter from a year ago. San Francisco is the only hub where United will add more seats, according to an
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United’s boost in the number of seats it’s flying in and out of Chicago to the highest level since 2004 is a vote of confidence in O’Hare International Airport. | BLOOMBERG
DIGGING OUT OF THE RENTAL RUT
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