How United Airlines established dominance at Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Today, according to information provided by flychicago.com, United operates approximately 560 daily flights out of O’Hare—including about 45 nonstop flights each day to 39 international destinations. These routes connect Chicago with major cities across Europe such as London-Heathrow (LHR), Frankfurt (FRA), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Rome Fiumicino (FCO), Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), Edinburgh (EDI), and Barcelona (BCN). In Asia-Pacific markets, nonstop service includes Tokyo-Haneda (HND) among others; Latin America is served via São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU) and Mexico City (MEX); while Canadian cities like Toronto (YYZ) are also accessible.

O’Hare’s central location—roughly equidistant between U.S. coasts—makes it well-suited for connecting passengers on transcontinental or intercontinental journeys. Its geographic position also enables efficient routing toward Europe and Asia.

Terminal infrastructure has been critical in supporting this growth. Terminal 1 was completed in 1987 as part of a $1 billion redevelopment project designed by Helmut Jahn. Known for its distinctive architecture—including an underground walkway lit with neon lights—the terminal was specifically laid out to optimize connections within United’s hub-and-spoke network model.

Ongoing investments continue under projects like “O’Hare 21,” which include new gates, redesigned concourses, state-of-the-art lounges such as Polaris Lounge and expanded international processing facilities—all aimed at supporting increased long-haul traffic and improving passenger experience.

Fleet strategy is closely aligned with these infrastructure upgrades: widebody aircraft like Boeing 787s serve primary long-haul routes such as Tokyo or Frankfurt; Boeing 777-300ERs operate on high-demand sectors; while narrowbodies including Airbus A320 family jets maintain dense domestic feed into ORD.

Beyond air travel itself, O'Hare serves as an economic driver for Chicago and Illinois overall—supporting tens of thousands of jobs across aviation-related industries such as hospitality and logistics.

Looking forward, modernization efforts remain underway at ORD—with new runways planned alongside continued fleet renewal initiatives that include additional Boeing 787s and incoming Airbus A321XLRs intended to bolster both international reach and domestic connectivity.

“Ultimately,” according to historical sources cited by the airline foundation: “United’s dominance at O’Hare reflects a century-long partnership between airline and city.” The airport remains central not only to United's business but also plays a vital role in global aviation connectivity.