Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is one of the most important hubs for United Airlines, with the Windy City also playing host to the US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and Star Alliance founding member’s corporate headquarters. According to scheduling data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, United is operating 12 new routes out of O’Hare this Q3 compared to the same time last year.
The carrier hasn’t had the easiest time at O’Hare of late, with Simple Flying reporting last week that FAA flight caps had also forced United to cut certain other routes from Chicago. Still, the presence of 12 new domestic destinations from O’Hare in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2025 is notable, and, in this article, we will examine where these routes go, and with which aircraft types.
Three of the 12 new routes are located to the east of Chicago. Of these, the most popular is Lancaster Airport (LNS) in Pennsylvania, to which United Airlines has scheduled a grand total of 158 departures from O’Hare in Q3. This equates to around 13 a week, with all of these flights being operated by rear-engined Bombardier CRJ regional twinjets from SkyWest Airlines under the United Express banner.
SkyWest’s Bombardier CRJs also link Lynchburg Regional Airport (LYH) with O’Hare: these aircraft serve the route daily on behalf of United Airlines under the United Express banner. The same aircraft type, operator, and frequency can also be found on United’s new route from O’Hare to North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB) in Clarksburg. United Airlines said of its domestic expansion last October that:
“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.”
The bulk of United Airlines’ new domestic destinations from Chicago O’Hare International Airport this Q3 compared to the same time in 2025 are located to the west of the Windy City. Of these, two are located in California, but they have wildly different frequencies. Indeed, United will fly Boeing 737s daily from O’Hare to Santa Barbara (SBA), with 85 rotations using the 737 MAX and seven using the 737-700.
Contrastingly, Monterey (MRY), its other new Californian destination from Chicago this Q3, will only see seven rotations during this period. All of them will use the 737-800, and they are limited to weekly operations in July and August. Further up the West Coast, Eugene (EUG) will also be served daily. Of these 92 rotations, 41 will use the Airbus A319, compared to 39 with the 737-800 and 12 with the 737-900
Moving inland, SkyWest Airlines’ Bombardier CRJ regional jets will link O’Hare with Kearney, Nebraska (EAR) on a daily basis this Q3. Elsewhere to the west of Chicago, frequencies are much more limited, with just 12 Q3 rotations apiece to Cody, Wyoming (COD) and Idaho Falls (IDA). Both are served by SkyWest’s Embraer E175s, as will be the case for the nine rotations to St George, Utah (SGU).
This program will significantly elevate the ground experience at ORD.
Looking to the south from Chicago O’Hare International Airport, there are two more new United Airlines domestic routes to cover this Q3. The closest and most popular links the Windy City with Barkley Regional Airport (PAH) in Paducah, Kentucky on a daily basis. Once again, these flights operate under the United Express regional banner, with SkyWest Airlines’ Bombardier CRJ550s doing the honors.
Key West International Airport (EYW) in the US state of Florida rounds out our list. United has penciled in 42 rotations from O’Hare in Q3, of which all but one will be operated by Republic Airways’ Embraer E175s. The exception is a sole rotation using one of its own mainline 737-700s. These flights primarily operate in July and August, highlighting the summer seasonality of demand for flights to Key West.
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