American Airlines Supercharges Chicago Hub for Spring 2026

CHICAGO — American Airlines (AA) is turning up the heat at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), unveiling its largest-ever spring schedule with 100 additional daily departures beginning in March 2026. The move boosts AA’s ORD operation to more than 500 peak daily flights, a 30% increase over last spring, firmly positioning Chicago as the airline’s third-largest global hub and the fastest-growing legacy carrier hub in the U.S. this year.

The network expansion adds service, or additional frequencies, across more than 75 destinations, including major business and leisure markets such as Boston (BOS), Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW), Orlando (MCO) and Fort Myers (RSW). AA is doubling service from ORD to Las Vegas (LAS), Panama City Beach (ECP) and Sarasota (SRQ) while more than doubling flights to Savannah (SAV) and San Francisco (SFO) compared to the initial spring schedule load.

The airline is also extending summer seasonal flights to Dublin (DUB) and Paris (CDG), lengthening both routes to capture peak transatlantic demand.

A Milestone Spring for AA’s Chicago Operation

The increase marks a 21% jump from what was originally filed for sale and caps a multi-year rebuild of AA’s Chicago presence. The carrier added 29 new destinations in 2025 alone, including Honolulu (HNL), Mexico City (MEX), Madrid (MAD) and Chicago’s only nonstop service to Naples, Italy (NAP).

The airline says the strengthened ORD schedule improves connectivity, reliability, and premium seat availability — the airline now offers premium seating on every ORD departure following the transition to dual-class regional jets. Chicago also became the launch market for AA’s new premium-configured Boeing 787-9, now anchoring the London Heathrow (LHR) route.

Operational, customer experience upgrades

American’s Chicago growth is supported by improved on-time performance, new boarding and baggage processes, upgraded gates, biometric screening partnerships with CBP and TSA, and the rollout of connection-saving technology across the network.

Enrollment in the AAdvantage program grew 20% year-over-year in Chicago, more than double the airline’s systemwide average.

ORD’s growing economic footprint

Amarican’s expansion boosts regional economic impact by improving connectivity for cities such as Cedar Rapids (CID), Bloomington (BMI) and Flint (FNT) — one-stop links that grow business, trade and tourism flow through Chicago.

ORD remains one of America’s largest dual-hub airports, where strong competition between carriers helps keep fares competitive while expanding choice.

What This Means for the Market

American Airlines is leaning hard into Chicago as a cornerstone growth engine, restoring pre-pandemic levels of flying while aggressively scaling premium capacity and schedule reliability to strengthen loyalty and corporate travel share in the Midwest.