American, United Agree O'Hare Expansion Plan

The expansion of Chicago’s O'Hare airport has cleared an obstacle as American and United airlines agreed to support the city’s plan after a disagreement over new gate assignments.

A joint statement issued by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the number of gates assigned to the two carriers will remain the same, but the city “committed to working with American to expedite the construction of three common use gates… which will be available for all carriers to use.”

American had previously opposed clauses in the airport lease that it said would give United five out of eight common use gates. The agreement to add the three gates in a much quicker timeframe appears to have placated the airline.

In coming to the party, American’s chief executive Doug Parker said it was “strongly supportive of this agreement because it is what is best for the city of Chicago, our 9,300 Chicago team members and our customers.”

Mayor Emanuel called the agreement “a watershed moment” for the city, creating tens of thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in economic development.

United’s CEO Oscar Munoz hailed the “bold vision for a modern O'Hare that will vastly improve” the travel experience. “This agreement not only gives O'Hare a competitive edge against other airports, but also ensures competition thrives between airlines, so that - in the end - customers win.”

The USD$8.5 billion transformation plan, due to be finished by 2026, includes a complete redevelopment of the airport’s terminals. Terminal 5, the current international terminal will be upgraded and expanded, Terminals 1 & 3 renovated and Terminal 2 redeveloped to include a new international arrivals facility to be called the O’Hare Global Terminal.

The upgrade will expand O’Hare’s overall terminal area by more than 60 percent, from 5.5 to 8.9 million square feet, and increase gate frontage by 25 percent.