Summary
- Viva Aerobus operates from Terminal 5 at ORD with close to 2,700 seats.
- Volaris has significantly greater ASMs, flies to QRO, and competes with Aeromexico on the ORD-MEX route.
- American Airlines operates extensively from ORD, including flights to YYZ and LHR, with 13,901 flights.
Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) is the most important airport in Chicago. It also has the distinction of being the second-busiest airport by the number of operations. This airport is home to eight runways and five terminals. But which airlines operate the most flights to and from ORD? Let’s find out.
5
Viva Aerobus
One of the two Mexican carriers on the list
|
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
|---|---|---|
|
2,692 |
541,560 |
881,463,846 |
According to data from “Cirium, an aviation analytics company“, the third-largest airline in Mexico, Viva Aerobus (VB), is offering close to 2,700 seats from the Chicago O’Hare Airport(ORD) in 2024. VB operates to five different airports in Mexico from ORD. According to Upgraded Points, Viva Aerobus operates from Terminal 5 in ORD.
Photo: Daniel Martínez Garbuno | Simple Flying.
Here’s a list of places that Viva Aerobus takes to from ORD, per flightera.net:
- Guadalajara International Airport (GDL)
- Mexico City International Airport (MEX)
- Monterrey International Airport (MTY)
- Morelia International Airport (MLM)
- Silo Del Bajio International Airport (BJX)
Despite having the least number of flights on this list, the number of ASMs offered on Viva Aerobus is more than three hundred million miles greater than that of the airline with the third-highest international operations from ORD.
4
Volaris
Operating routes from ORD to Mexico that no other carrier does
|
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
|---|---|---|
|
3,378 |
670,691 |
1,135,276,738 |
Like its Mexican counterpart Viva Aerobus, Volaris (Y4) also uses terminal 5 from ORD. Y4 had 686 more flights to and from ORD than Viva Aerobus. This results in Y4 having significantly greater ASMs in its operations from ORD than VB’s operations.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
In addition to a few airports where Viva Aerobus operates from ORD, Y4 also operates at Queretaro International Airport (QRO). Volaris is the only carrier offering direct flights on this route. It deploys the following aircraft on this route, which it covers in approximately four hours.
- Airbus A320-100/200
- Airbus A320neo
Volaris and Viva Aerobus compete with another Mexican carrier on the ORD-MEX route – Aeromexico. According to flightroutes.com, Aeromexico has the longest flight of the three carriers operating from Chicago O’Hare Airport to Mexico City International Airport (MEX).
3
Air Canada
The only Canadian carrier on the list
|
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
|---|---|---|
|
5,846 |
703,148 |
519,659,694 |
The flag carrier of Canada, Air Canada(AC), has almost as many operations from ORD as the two Mexican carriers we have discussed above combined. Air Canada primarily operates to and from ORD to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
Air Canada competes with two carriers from the US for direct flights on the ORD-YYZ route. These include United Airlines and American Airlines. According to flightconnections.com, the flight times of these three carriers are almost identical, with the carriers taking approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete this nearly 437-mile journey.
Let’s take a look at the aircraft these carriers use on this route:
- American Airlines operates its Embraer E170.
- United Airlines deploys a number of aircraft, including Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Embraer 175, etc.
Currently, Delta Air Lines is the only carrier offering a one-stop flight on this route as its aircraft makes a stop at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).
2
American Airlines
Flying to Europe, the Americas, and more
|
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
|---|---|---|
|
13,901 |
2,185,719 |
3,605,425,341 |
American Airlines (AA) is an airline based in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and has a hub at ORD. AA is the airline with the second-highest number of operations to and from ORD internationally. As discussed previously, one of the places where AA flies to and from ORD is Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
One of the other popular places where AA flies to and from ORD is London Heathrow (LHR). AA deploys its Boeing 787-9s on this route, where it competes with the British flag carrier – British Airways and United Airlines.
Photo: Balta Mihaita Sorin | Shutterstock
AA also has several one-stop flights on this route with stopovers at various locations, such as Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Rayleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), among others.
According to flightsfrom.com some other international destinations where AA operates its flights from ORD include Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport(FCO), Cancun International Airport (CUN), etc.
1
United Airlines
More flights than all the other carriers on the list combined
United Airlines (UA) offers more than forty-four million seats on its flights to and from Chicago O’Hare Airport in 2024- the highest among any carrier operating from ORD. The airline also has the highest number of international flights to and from the airport.
|
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
|---|---|---|
|
30,255 |
5,271,948 |
15,862,123,921 |
The number of flights that US offers is more than double the number of seats offered by the airline with the second-highest number of flights from ORD – American Airlines. The ASMs offered on UA’s international flights to and from ORD are greater than the combined ASMs of the remaining carriers on this list. The same is true for the number of seats.
Photo: United Airlines
Some of the international destinations where United Airlines takes off from ORD include:
- Cancun, on a 1,526-mile journey that spans 3 hours 44 min.
- Monterrrey, on a 1,378-mile journey spanning 3 hours and 30 minutes.