en.Wedoany.com Reported - United Airlines recently announced that it will resume daily nonstop flights between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) in March 2027. This news reflects the competitive dynamics between United and American Airlines at O'Hare, as both seek to close the gap in long-haul routes.

The new route will put United Airlines in direct competition with American Airlines, which already operates nonstop service between O'Hare and Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND). However, this alone is not enough to close the intercontinental capacity gap between the two carriers in Chicago. According to Cirium data, American Airlines has scheduled only 2,303 long-haul flights from O'Hare this year, compared to United's 6,152. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom remains optimistic about the new route's prospects, stating that this new service demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to strengthening its hubs, expanding customer choices, and keeping Chicago competitive on the world stage.

Specifically, in July 2026, United Airlines operated a total of 589 long-haul international flights from O'Hare, offering 150,474 seats with an average of 255.5 passengers per flight, providing a total of 677,587,243 available seat miles. United's long-haul network from O'Hare significantly covers Europe and some non-European destinations, including daily flights to Tokyo Haneda and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). Most of its European routes also operate daily, covering Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Shannon, and Zurich, with two daily flights to Frankfurt and three daily flights to London Heathrow.

In contrast, American Airlines' long-haul network from O'Hare in July this year is limited to a few European routes, with a total of 310 scheduled long-haul flights, offering 75,051 seats and an average of 242.1 passengers per flight. The upcoming daily Tokyo Narita flight will significantly help diversify its intercontinental routes in Chicago. American's routes overlap heavily with United's, such as three daily flights to London Heathrow and daily flights to Athens, Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, and Rome. Additionally, American serves two European destinations not covered by United: Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) and Naples, Italy. It remains to be seen whether American will add more routes to further narrow the gap.