Raise your hand if you had Erie, Pennsylvania, and Johnson City, Tennessee, at the center of a turf war between two of America’s largest airlines.
Few of you probably saw it coming, however, that’s exactly where those two cities ended up after United Airlines abruptly added them to its network on Friday, and just one day after they were both 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 hub in the fourth busiest airport in the country.
Heated rivalry: United and American up the ante in battle for supremacy in Chicago
united and american they have fought this year about access to ORD, where doors are in high demand, and where such demand can seriously limit a carrier’s ability to grow if doors cannot be found. Both United and American have stated that they should be entitled to new gates that are now operational there. But the back-and-forth appears to have sparked a turf war as hometown United looks to cement its dominant position while American tries to close the gap.
So how did Erie and Johnson City get a starring role in the Windy City dispute?
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That happened 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
Just 24 hours later, United launched its own expansion, featuring the three cities 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 airline will debut on TRI, which also serves the East Tennessee cities of Kingsport and Bristol, on June 8.
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United also appears to be targeting 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 the peak summer travel season, we are building on the strength of a global network that is simply unmatched in Chicago,” Mark Weithofer, United’s general manager of domestic network planning, said in a statement that was almost certainly a reference to American.
Expect more to come in 2026 as this emerging turf war between the United States and the United States plays out. 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 for the market.
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