United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is turning up the heat, at least in terms of rhetoric, on American Airlines in Chicago, suggesting his competitor could eventually be forced to dehub Chicago O’Hare as United ramps up to 600 daily departures. Kirby also provided a United fleet update as the carrier accelerates delivery of new aircraft.

United CEO Suggests American Could Be Forced To Dehub Chicago O’Hare, Provides Fleet Update

Kirby made the remarks in a meeting with pilots, referencing United’s growing dominance at O’Hare and the competitive disadvantage faced by American Airlines, which has cut back service at the airport in recent years, even as it now seeks to ramp up service. While couched in speculation, the tone of his comments was characteristically confident…United sees itself as the undisputed home carrier at O’Hare.

United’s Expansion, American’s Contraction

United is on track to operate around 600 flights per day from O’Hare (ORD), a number that reflects both domestic breadth and international depth. By contrast, American’s footprint in Chicago has shrunk over the last few years. The airline still calls O’Hare one of its hubs, but its growth has been concentrated in Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Charlotte (CLT), and Miami (MIA).

Kirby suggested that if trends continue, American may be unable to justify Chicago as a hub. While United expands bank structures and increases connectivity, American has been more focused on trimming unprofitable routes and prioritizing strength elsewhere. Even its new routes have often been at off-peak times, such as domestic departures after 10:00 pm. In Kirby’s view, that could eventually lead American to retreat further, leaving United with even greater control over one of the nation’s busiest airports.

This sort of competitive posturing is not new. Airlines regularly talk up their dominance in hub markets and predict the demise of rivals. In practice, the reality is often more nuanced. American continues to maintain a significant presence in Chicago and benefits from O’Hare’s role as a critical Midwest gateway. But it is difficult to ignore the widening gap in schedules and connectivity between the two carriers, particularly when examining peak versus off-peak growth (where much of AA’s growth has been).

And American Airlines seems to be correct in its legal argument that the recent growth favoring United at ORD runs afoul of the contractual guarantees AA had with ORD.

United Fleet + Network Updates

In his talk to pilots, Kirby also shared updates on the massive wave of fleet deliveries and operational changes ahead that will reshape the airline over the next several years:

• Over 100 new aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2026.
• Airbus A321XLR arrives in summer 2026, flying internationally by Q4 with new European destinations.
• Boeing 787 deliveries increase to two per month in January 2026, with growth in Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Newark (EWR).
• Some SFO 777 routes will shift to 787s as 777s redeploy to Newark (EWR) and Washington Dulles (IAD).
• Boeing 777 operations will grow at IAD and EWR; 757 and 767 flying will also increase at those hubs as aircraft move from the West Coast.
• Boeing 767-300 fleet will undergo another round of heavy checks and remain in service until the early 2030s.
• 737 MAX-10 deliveries delayed until 2027; United will continue converting MAX-10 orders to MAX-9 to maintain steady inflow. (As a result, United is no longer the MAX-10 launch customer)
• A350 remains an option as a 777 replacement, with a final decision expected by Q4 2025. Rolls-Royce has offered favorable engine pricing but also wants to buy United out of its contract.
• Plans to double international capacity at IAD with 14 additional gates.
• Pursuing additional JFK slots “beyond those expected from JetBlue,” with a goal of 20 daily slots.
• No interest in acquiring other airlines or used aircraft, but United is actively pursuing more gates and slots at key airports.

United hopes to hire 2,400 pilots in 2026 and would hire even more if its training facility in Denver had sufficient space.

CONCLUSION

Kirby’s comments about American potentially being forced out of Chicago are as much about rallying United’s employees as they are about market dynamics. Still, they reflect a very real trend: United is growing more rapidly at O’Hare than American and is trying to use its momentum to squeeze out more gate space. Whether this imbalance will ultimately push American to downgrade or abandon its hub status in Chicago remains to be seen, but for now the battle lines are clear, and United’s CEO is signaling victory before it has even been won…in typical Kirby fashion.

As for the fleet updates, the 767s will live longer than many of us thought, but the biggest (unresolved) issue is whether United will ever take delivery of the A350s and if so, will that be viable replacements for its aging 777 fleet?