American Airlines Puts O’Hare In Overdrive With Record Spring 2026 Schedule
American Airlines is significantly expanding its Chicago O’Hare (ORD) operation for spring 2026, adding about 100 additional daily departures starting in March 2026. The move is expected to push the carrier to more than 500 peak daily flights from ORD—roughly a 30% increase versus last spring—reinforcing Chicago as American’s third-largest hub and one of its fastest-growing focus points this year.
A Bigger Network From Chicago, Starting March 2026
American says the expanded spring schedule adds new service or additional frequencies across 75+ destinations, spanning both business-heavy and leisure markets. Key examples highlighted include:
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Boston (BOS)
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Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW)
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Orlando (MCO)
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Fort Myers (RSW)
Where Capacity Rises The Most
Several routes are seeing especially notable growth versus the initially filed spring plan:
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Doubling of service from ORD to Las Vegas (LAS), Panama City Beach (ECP), and Sarasota (SRQ)
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More than doubling of flights to Savannah (SAV) and San Francisco (SFO)
Transatlantic Extensions: Dublin And Paris Stretch Longer
American is also extending seasonal flying to capture peak demand by lengthening the operating window for:
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Dublin (DUB)
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Paris (CDG)
A Milestone Moment In American’s Chicago Rebuild
American describes the spring 2026 plan as the capstone of a multi-year rebuild at ORD, noting the schedule represents a 21% jump from what had originally been filed for sale.
The airline also points to the scale of recent growth, including 29 new destinations added in 2025, such as:
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Honolulu (HNL)
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Mexico City (MEX)
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Madrid (MAD)
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Naples, Italy (NAP) — described as Chicago’s only nonstop on that route
Premium Push And Operational Upgrades
American is pairing schedule growth with a stronger premium and reliability message at ORD, including:
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Premium seating on every ORD departure following the shift to dual-class regional jets
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Chicago serving as the launch market for American’s premium-configured Boeing 787-9, now featured on the London Heathrow (LHR) route
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Operational and customer-experience initiatives, including updated boarding and baggage processes, gate upgrades, biometric screening partnerships, and broader deployment of connection-support technology
American also cites stronger loyalty traction locally, noting AAdvantage enrollment in Chicago rose 20% year-over-year, outpacing the airline’s overall average growth rate.
What This Means For Chicago And The Midwest
Beyond headline route growth, American is positioning ORD as a stronger connectivity engine for smaller regional markets—citing improved one-stop access via Chicago for cities like:
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Cedar Rapids (CID)
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Bloomington (BMI)
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Flint (FNT)
Bottom Line
American is leaning aggressively into O’Hare for spring 2026—adding significant daily flying, expanding frequencies on key leisure and business routes, extending select transatlantic seasonal service, and continuing a broader push around premium capacity and operational improvements at one of the most competitive hub airports in the U.S.
