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United O'Hare New Routes Start April 30 and May 7

United O'Hare new routes on an ORD departures board beside a United jet at the gate during spring schedule buildup
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5 min read

United Airlines is adding five new Midwest routes from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) as it ramps up for what it calls its biggest summer schedule ever at the hub. The carrier says it will grow to 750 flights per day at ORD this summer, and it also says more than 80 cities will see additional capacity from Chicago through a mix of added frequencies and larger aircraft.

The five new routes are short haul, high frequency links aimed at feeding connections and giving Chicago area travelers more options in nearby secondary markets. United's announcement lists service, sold starting January 29, 2026, that begins April 30, 2026, to Champaign Urbana and Kalamazoo, then begins May 7, 2026, to Lansing, La Crosse, and Bloomington Normal, each operated four times daily.

This build up lands inside an active competitive cycle at ORD. Reuters reports that United and American Airlines are both pushing growth at one of the few major U.S. airports where two legacy carriers still run full hubs, with gate access and schedule depth tied closely to winning higher value corporate travelers.

Who Is Affected

Travelers in the new spoke cities are the most directly affected, especially anyone who routinely connects through Chicago rather than starting or ending their trip there. The new United routes are expected to serve University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), Kalamazoo Battle Creek International Airport (AZO), Capital Region International Airport (LAN), La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE), and Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI).

Chicago travelers are also affected, even if they never fly these new routes, because the larger story is hub intensity. United's plan to run up to 750 daily flights implies busier peaks at security, more crowded concourses near regional gates, and more competition for operational slack when weather, air traffic control constraints, or late arriving aircraft disrupt the day.

American customers at ORD should assume the chess match continues. American has separately outlined a spring schedule that targets 500 peak daily departures from ORD, and it has announced new ORD routes to Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), and Kahului Airport (OGG).

What Travelers Should Do

If you are traveling to or from the five new spoke markets, treat the first few weeks of new service as a period where schedules can still move. Book with enough buffer to protect connections, save boarding passes offline, and build extra time for bag drop and security at Chicago O'Hare, particularly if you are connecting from a regional flight to an international departure.

Use decision thresholds that match your trip stakes. If you have a cruise embarkation, a wedding, a hard start conference, or any same day nonrefundable event, favor earlier flights and longer connection windows through Chicago, or route around the hub if a nonstop exists. If your trip is flexible and pricing is the main goal, consider holding for competitive fare moves, but do it only if you can accept a schedule change without cascading costs.

Over the next 24 to 72 hours after you book, monitor three things: the exact flight numbers and timings as seats open for sale, any aircraft upgauges that change seat maps, and any emerging waivers or schedule adjustments as both carriers refine their ORD banks. Once spring turns into early summer, keep an eye on day of travel conditions at Chicago O'Hare, because higher peak volume can turn minor delays into missed connections quickly.

Background

Hub expansions are not just about adding dots to a route map. They are about building more connection "banks," meaning waves of arrivals and departures that let travelers connect with shorter layovers and more same day options. When a hub adds multiple four times daily regional routes, the first order effect is obvious, more seats, more departure choices, and better connection coverage for small markets. The second order effects show up in how the system handles stress.

At the airport layer, higher peak day volume raises the cost of disruption. A small gate delay can cascade when inbound aircraft arrive late, crews time out, or ramp congestion slows turns. At the network layer, more connecting passengers increases reaccommodation complexity, because a cancellation out of a small market can strand travelers who have fewer alternative flights and who may already be holding onward international reservations. At the ground layer, that often becomes unplanned hotel nights near ORD, later rideshare surges, and missed time sensitive transfers, especially during weather constrained weeks.

Fleet constraints also matter. Airlines have increasingly leaned on aircraft size and utilization to deliver capacity, and aircraft delivery delays can force last minute substitutions that change schedules and seat availability. For readers who want the deeper mechanics behind why airlines sometimes add flights, then later upgauge, cut, or reshuffle, see FAA Delays on Boeing 737 MAX 10 Hit Airline Capacity.

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