American Airlines is locking horns with the city of Chicago in what could be a high-stakes tussle over gate reallocations at O'Hare International Airport that favors its rival, United Airlines. In a recent legal move, American sued Chicago arguing that a premature redetermination of gates disrupts their competitive edge and violates previous agreements. The airline is seeking to postpone the gate reallocation until at least April 2027, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The crux of the dispute lies in an alleged breach of a lease agreement. United is poised to gain five more gates, which would expand their control to about 40% of those at O'Hare, a significant jump over American's 30%. This development, American Airlines argues, would sour the conditions under which they operate at the airport, rendering them less able to offer extensive flight schedules and competitive fares. "That’s why we’re taking action against the Chicago Department of Aviation’s (CDA) premature trigger of the reallocation of gates at O’Hare — the timing is not only a violation of the agreement signed in 2018, but it unfairly upsets the competitive balance at O’Hare by making it more difficult for us to grow," American Airlines said in a statement obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
American Airlines further contends that United's expansion ambitions at O'Hare are sidelining its own plans for growth. Bloomberg's coverage notes that American has its sights on adding 17 new destinations from O'Hare this year alone. "United wants to elbow it out so it can become the 'sole hub carrier' of the fourth-busiest airport in the world," American's lawyers penned in the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg.
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