Travelers will soon have more options from the Windy City.
United Airlines will expand service from its hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), adding 10 new destinations across the United States from the Midwest city, an airline spokesperson shared with Travel + Leisure. The new flights will launch next year and come after United secured more gates at the popular airport.
“United is already flying its busiest schedule in history at O’Hare, and now these additional gates have unlocked new opportunities to intertwine cities across the country, serve more customers in Chicago and strengthen our hometown hub,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a statement shared with T+L, adding the new routes will provide Chicago travelers with “more options than ever to explore unique destinations across the country as well as bringing these cities to experience all that Chicago has to offer.”
The largest volume of new flights will launch between ORD and the West Coast. Starting in the spring, passengers will enjoy new daily service to Santa Barbara, California; Eugene, Oregon; Paducah, Kentucky; and Lynchburg, Virginia.
Then in the summer, United will launch Saturday seasonal service to both Monterey, California, and St. George, Utah. The Utah route in particular may be popular among national park visitors since the airport functions as a main transportation point for Zion National Park, located just 40 miles away.
Within the Midwest, United will begin new daily service in the spring to Marquette, Michigan; Wausau, Wisconsin; and Rochester, Minnesota. Then in the summer, the carrier will launch Saturday seasonal service to Idaho Falls, Idaho.
In addition to the new flights, United said it would expand several of its current weekend-only routes to daily service next summer. These include flights to Hilton Head, South Carolina; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Sun Valley, Idaho; Aruba; and Nassau, Bahamas. The airline will also expand its current service to West Palm Beach, Florida, to year-round daily flights.
Tickets for all of the new routes are now on sale.
This is the latest expansion for United, which plans to add several popular European cities to its schedule for summer 2026 and just launched several new routes to Asia. It also comes amid plans from the carrier to introduce an elevated business class option, the Polaris Studio. When it launches, the suite will include 25 percent more space, larger in-flight screens, upgraded amenity kits, upgraded dining options like caviar, and more.
