United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby had brash words Wednesday about the United-American turf war at Chicago O'Hare, saying that American is losing a lot of money challenging United's dominant position.
Scott Kirby
Kirby also said United will respond to American's flight surge at O'Hare with a surge of its own. United will begin loading new O'Hare flights into its schedule next week, he said during United's Q4 earnings call.
In late December, American said it would boost 2026 spring-break flying from Chicago O'Hare by 30% during peak days. That follows a year when American increased summer flying from O'Hare by 20%. The resulting figure of 84,500 departures from June through August was still 18.6% fewer than United.
American's aggressive surge means it will gain more gates at O'Hare. Each year, the Chicago Department of Aviation reallocates gates at the airport based upon airline usage from the previous year. Last October, United picked up five gates at O'Hare based on 2024 flying, while American lost four.
While American's gate footprint grows, Kirby expects United to lose three gates at O'Hare during this year's reallocation process. With United ramping up Chicago capacity this year, Kirby vowed that American in 2027 won't "win a single gate at our expense."
"We're not trying to win gates," Kirby said. "But we're going to fly as many flights that are required to make sure we keep our gate count the same in Chicago."
Kirby claimed that American lost about $500 million at O'Hare last year, and he expects the loss to double this year. He didn't give details on how he came to those figures. Meanwhile, Kirby said United turned a $500 million profit at O'Hare, and he projected United will be at least $500 million in the black again this year, even accounting for the projected negative impact of a capacity fight with American.
American responded to Kirby's comments. "Over the course of nearly a century, American Airlines has invested billions of dollars in its team, customers, operation and airport infrastructure in Chicago, which includes the addition of nearly 30 new destinations from O'Hare International Airport (ORD) this year alone," the airline said. "That, coupled with an ongoing comprehensive growth strategy in the market, demonstrates our commitment to Chicago far more than external claims and tactics. Two competing hub carriers means ORD is positioned to provide lower fares and more options to travel to, from and through Chicago."
During American's October earnings call, CEO Robert Isom said he anticipates that Chicago "will return to its rightful place as one of our largest and more profitable hubs." He said loyalty program enrollment in Chicago had increased 20% over the course of 2025, highlighting American's renewed focus on O'Hare.
United's Q4 results
United reported operating revenue of $15.4 billion for the December quarter, topping analyst estimates by $60 million, according to investment website Seeking Alpha. United's revenue was up 4.8% year over year on 6.5% more capacity.
The airline reported expenses for the fourth quarter of $14.01 billion, up 6.2%.
Operating income was $1.39 billion, a 7.8% decrease. The airline said there was a $250 million impact on pre-tax earnings due to the federal government shutdown in October and early November.
United's net income for the fourth quarter was $1.04 billion.
For the full year, United had operating income of $4.71 billion, down 7.5% from 2024 as it dealt with weak domestic economy demand and challenging springtime operations at its Newark hub, where runway work along with air traffic control technology failures and staffing shortages led to persistent flight delays and cancellations.
United's net income for 2025 was $3.35 billon. Its pre-tax operating margin was 7.3%.
The airline reported earnings per share for the year of $10.20, up 8% from 2024. United is expected to be the only U.S. airline to grow earnings per share in 2025.
This report was updated on Jan. 22 with a response from American Airlines.