Raise your hand if you had Erie, Pennsylvania, and Johnson City, Tennessee, at the center of a turf war between two of the United States’ biggest airlines.
Few of you probably saw that coming, yet that’s exactly where those two cities ended up after United Airlines abruptly added them to its network Friday — and just a day after both were included in a broader 16-route expansion by rival American Airlines.
Of course, United and American aren’t really fighting over Erie and Johnson City — but rather over Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), where each operates a large connecting hub at the nation’s fourth-busiest airport.
Heated rivalry: United, American up the ante in battle for Chicago supremacy
United and American have sparred this year over access to ORD, where the gates are in high demand — and where said demand can seriously limit a carrier’s ability to grow if no gates can be found. Both United and American have claimed they should be entitled to new gates now coming online there. But the back-and-forth appears to have ignited a turf war as hometown United seeks to entrench its prime position while American tries to close the gap.
So how did Erie and Johnson City land a starring role in the Windy City spat?
That came yesterday, when American added three new routes from O’Hare in its broader expansion. Those three new Chicago routes?
- Erie International Airport (ERI)
- Tri-Cities Airport (TRI), near Johnson City
- Lincoln Airport (LNK) in Nebraska
Barely 24 hours later, United rolled out its own expansion — featuring all three of those cities that American included in its ORD additions.
United will begin flying ERI-ORD on June 1, putting the Pennsylvania city back on its route map for the first time since May 2023. And the carrier will make its debut at TRI — which also serves the eastern Tennessee cities of Kingsport and Bristol — on June 8.
SeatGuru is dead: Here are the best alternatives
United also appears to be taking aim at American at LNK, which American will connect to three of its hubs next year — including ORD. In its statement announcing the additions of ERI and TRI, United also said it would add a fifth daily flight to its existing service between ORD and LNK.
“As we continue our steady growth at O’Hare, reaching nearly 650 daily departures during peak summer travel, we’re building on the strength of a global network that’s simply unmatched in Chicago,” Mark Weithofer, United’s Managing Director of Domestic Network Planning, said in a statement that was almost certainly a reference to American.
Look for more to come in 2026 as this emerging turf war between United and American unfolds. But, for now, it’s customers who are likely to benefit from additional flights and routes — and possibly lower fares as the two Chicago giants fight over the market.
reading: