CLEVELAND, Ohio – American Airlines is expanding its flying from Chicago O’Hare International Airport next year, adding new flights to Cleveland and elsewhere.
The carrier said it will add up to three daily flights between Cleveland and O’Hare starting in February, for a total of seven peak daily flights between the two Midwestern cities.
The additions are part of a broader spring expansion in Chicago, which includes 100 new daily flights to 75 destinations.
The expansion increases the competition — for Cleveland travelers and others — between American and United Airlines, which both operate hubs at Chicago O’Hare.
Related: JetBlue adds daily nonstop flights between Cleveland Hopkins airport and New York’s JFK
In recent years, American has trailed United in its post-pandemic recovery at O’Hare. According to Travel Weekly, citing data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, American last year offered 24.3% fewer O’Hare seats than it did in 2019, while United had restored 99.2% of its pre-pandemic seat capacity.
American said the new flights will bring its O’Hare schedule to more than 500 daily departures during peak spring travel season — a 30% increase compared to last spring — effectively restoring the airline’s pre-pandemic flying levels at the airport.
The spring expansion follows a busy 2025 at O’Hare for American, which added 29 new destinations to Chicago, including new service to Honolulu, Mexico City, Madrid and Naples, Italy.
In a statement, Franco Tedeschi, American’s vice president of domestic airports and strategic partnerships, said the airline’s new Chicago service strengthens global connectivity for Cleveland travelers.
“The impact of service to Chicago goes far beyond the city itself to connect Cleveland to communities across the globe and give travelers more access to American’s expansive global network and beyond.”
