01Schedules
47 years
of published Chicago schedules, carrier by carrier
- Departures & seats
- Routes & stage length
- 1980 to 2026
Answers
Who is building capacity?
The scoreboard
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DPAIThe Chicago
DPAIThe Chicago
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · Introduction
The Chicago Hub Battle
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DPAIA DPAI Use Case Study
Airline & Airport Intelligence · Chicago, IL
The Chicago
Hub Battle
United vs. American at O'Hare: five decades of schedules, the routes where they fight flight for flight, and the travelers they are really competing for.
United · ORDAmerican · ORDSouthwest · MDW
47 yearsof Chicago schedules · 1980–2026
www.getDPAI.com
DPAIA DPAI Use Case Study
Airline & Airport Intelligence · Chicago, IL
The Chicago
Hub Battle
United vs. American at O'Hare: five decades of schedules, the routes where they fight flight for flight, and the travelers they are really competing for.
United · ORDAmerican · ORDSouthwest · MDW
47 yearsof Chicago schedules · 1980–2026
www.getDPAI.com
Why It Matters
Two airlines. One hub. Forty-seven years.
United and American have both run a hub at O'Hare for as long as these schedules go back. Schedules show who is winning the capacity race. Only traveler data shows whether they are fighting over the same people.
02Route network
256
O'Hare nonstop destinations on United or American in 2026
- Every nonstop, every year
- Departures & seats per route
- Flights to each other's hubs
Answers
Where do they collide?
The battleground
03Traveler catchment
47,943
devices observed at O'Hare, Midway and Rockford
- Census profile of home areas
- United vs. American at ORD
- Midway & Rockford for contrast
Answers
Are they chasing the same customer?
The customer
The question
Who really owns O'Hare, and are United and American even competing for the same travelers?
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · Introduction01 · The Scoreboard
In 1990, O'Hare was a dead heat.
Through the early 1990s American ran almost as many Chicago departures as United. Then the lines separate, and they have never met again.
Annual scheduled departures
UnitedAmerican
Departures
1990 · American vs. United
98%
of United's departures
American's busiest year · 2004
194,301
departures, and never matched since
United's busiest year · 2026
231,591
departures, its largest Chicago schedule ever
Finding
From 1990 to 1996 American flew at least 94% of United's departures. It has not come that close since.
Source: Published airline schedules · Chicago-area departures by carrier · 1980–2026 incl. filed schedules for the rest of 2026
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 01 · Five Decades of Schedules01 · The Gap
COVID widened the gap. American is clawing back.
American's Chicago schedule as a share of United's, year by year. At 100% the two hubs would be the same size.
American as a share of United
Share of United
2019 · Before COVID
–%
of United's departures
2023 · The low point
–%
of United's departures
2026 · Today
–%
of United's departures
Finding
In 2023 American fell to 69% of United's departures, the widest gap since 1987. It is back to 76%, but in seats it is still at 70%.
Source: Published airline schedules · Chicago-area departures by carrier · 1980–2026 incl. filed schedules for the rest of 2026
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 01 · Five Decades of Schedules01 · Breadth
The overlap grew. American's own territory vanished.
Every O'Hare nonstop destination, each year, sorted three ways: served by both carriers, by United alone, or by American alone.
O'Hare nonstop destinations
Both carriersUnited onlyAmerican only
Destinations by year
Shared destinations
164
in 2026, up from 25 in 1980
United only
70
destinations today; peak of 109 in 2014
American only
22
destinations today, from 39 in 1999
Finding
Almost everywhere American flies from O'Hare, United flies too. The reverse is not true: United keeps 70 cities to itself.
Source: Published airline schedules · O'Hare nonstop destinations served by United and American · 1980–2026
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 01 · Five Decades of Schedules01 · The Fleet
Same hub, different airplanes.
Seats per departure tell the fleet story. Regional jets shrank both carriers through the 2000s; since COVID, United has upgauged faster.
Seats per departure
Seats per departure
2000 · seats
–vs.–
United vs. American
2010 · seats
–vs.–
United vs. American
2026 · seats
–vs.–
United vs. American
Finding
United now puts about ten more seats on the average Chicago departure than American, and flies slightly longer stages.
Source: Published airline schedules · Chicago-area departures by carrier · 1980–2026 incl. filed schedules for the rest of 2026 · seats published from 1996
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 01 · Five Decades of Schedules02 · Every Route, Every Year
Two networks. One battleground.
Forty-seven years of O'Hare schedules, drawn route by route. Line weight is scheduled departures. Press play to watch the two networks grow into each other.
2026
2026
United
–
destinations · – departures
American
–
destinations · – departures
Head-to-head · 2026
–
destinations served by both carriers
Finding
In 1980 the two carriers shared 25 destinations. Today they share 164.
Source: Published airline schedules · O'Hare nonstop departures · United & American · 1980–2026
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 02 · The Battleground02 · Head to Head
Where they fight, flight for flight.
The busiest O'Hare destinations that both carriers serve, by scheduled departures in the year.
Contested routes · 2026
Contested routes
Shared destinations · 2026
164
of 256 O'Hare destinations on either carrier
United flying
89%
of departures on shared routes
American flying
95%
of departures on shared routes
Finding
Nearly all of American's O'Hare schedule runs straight into United. In 2026, LaGuardia and Washington National are the biggest battlegrounds.
Source: Published airline schedules · O'Hare nonstop departures · United & American · 1980–2026 · top 12 destinations served by both, ranked by combined departures
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 02 · The Battleground02 · Home Turf
Each carrier wins on the way home.
O'Hare departures to each airline's other hubs, as they stand since the 2010 and 2013 mergers. Connecting traffic makes these the routes neither will give up.
Routes to each carrier's hubs · 2026
Hub routes
Hub routes won by the home carrier · 2026
10 / 10
routes where the airline that owns the far end flies more
To United hubs
73%
of departures are United's
To American hubs
66%
of departures are American's
Finding
O'Hare is a spoke as well as a hub. Each airline feeds its own network first, and Washington Dulles is United's alone.
Source: Published airline schedules · O'Hare nonstop departures · United & American · 1980–2026 · current hubs · Los Angeles excluded, as both carriers run a hub there
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 02 · The Battleground02 · The Other Airport
Meanwhile, Midway belongs to Southwest.
Chicago's second airport has had three hub carriers. Midway Airlines and ATA are gone. Southwest is the only one left, and it has outgrown both.
Annual Chicago departures · Midway-based carriers
SouthwestMidway AirlinesATA
Midway carriers
Southwest · 2026
73,807
Chicago departures on 95 routes, about a third of United's
Midway Airlines
1991
last year flown
ATA
2008
last year flown
Finding
United and American barely touch Midway. The O'Hare fight is between two network carriers; Southwest competes for Chicago from the side.
Source: Published airline schedules · Chicago-area departures by carrier · 1980–2026 incl. filed schedules for the rest of 2026 · Southwest totals include O'Hare service from 2021
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 02 · The Battleground03 · The Customer
Same hub. Same traveler.
Devices seen at United's and American's O'Hare gates, profiled by the census make-up of the neighborhoods they come home to.
Share of travelers · United vs. American at O'Hare
Traveler profile
United @ ORDAmerican @ ORD
Average profile gap
0.6 pts
across 22 age, income, education and race groups
United · median income
$87k
of travelers' home areas
American · median income
$90k
of travelers' home areas
Finding
Switch between dimensions: the bars barely move. At O'Hare, United and American are fighting over the same customer, so the battle is won on schedule, not audience.
Source: DPAI device location panel · census profiles of travelers' home areas · 47,943 devices · United @ ORD 24,572 · American @ ORD 17,281 · Midway 5,689 · Rockford 401
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 03 · Who Flies03 · Four Gateways
The real divide is between airports.
Put Midway and Rockford next to the two O'Hare carriers and the differences finally show up. Airport choice sorts Chicago travelers more than airline choice does.
Traveler profile by gatewayshaded by distance from the O'Hare average
Gateway profiles
below O'Hare above O'Hare
Profile gap from United @ ORD
Gaps
Average difference across 22 age, income, education and race groups.
Finding
Rockford is the outlier: older, fewer degrees and homes worth about 30% less. Midway matches O'Hare on income but has a larger Hispanic and Black share.
Source: DPAI device location panel · census profiles of travelers' home areas · 47,943 devices · United @ ORD 24,572 · American @ ORD 17,281 · Midway 5,689 · Rockford 401 · Rockford's small sample makes its figures indicative
DPAIThe Chicago Hub Battle · 03 · Who FliesSelected slide
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