Oneworld Alliance member American Airlines is set to compete with United. Today, it announced plans to launch direct flights between Chicago and Honolulu in October.
Returning to the skies for the first time since 2021
This route isn’t all new for American Airlines, which last connected Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). The route, which is set to return on October 26, will be served by the carrier’s widebody Boeing 787-8
aircraft. While the airline’s schedule hasn’t been released, it is expected to be served once daily.
Currently, United Airlines operates the route 11 times weekly; all onboard the carrier Boeing 787-10 aircraft, to the below schedule:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure time |
Arrival time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UA219 |
Chicago |
Honolulu |
09:30 |
14:52 |
Daily |
UA506 |
Chicago |
Honolulu |
13:00 |
18:18 |
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday |
UA218 |
Honolulu |
Chicago |
18:05 |
06:11 |
Daily |
UA509 |
Honolulu |
Chicago |
21:20 |
09:26 |
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday |
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More capacity and destinations from Chicago
American Airlines’ resumption of services between Chicago and Honolulu came as part of an announcement from the carrier that it plans to provide more capacity on more routes, with plenty of premium options across the summer, with nine new destinations. Once summer ends, Honolulu will launch, providing locals with another direct choice between the two cities.
Simple Flying reached out to American Airlines for further information on the new route, including schedules, and was directed to the route announcement, with American Airlines Vice President of ORD Operations sharing this statement:
“O’Hare has always been a vital hub for American, connecting the Midwest to our global network and bringing travelers from across the world to Chicago for business and pleasure.
“Strengthening our network is a promise to our customers that we’ll continue to provide exceptional service to the places they want to go. And it reinforces to our partners and stakeholders that we’ll be an economic driver for the region well into the future — all powered by our Chicago team members who are the best at putting our customers first.”
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Across the summer, American Airlines plans up to 480 daily flights, representing 25% more seats plus 22% more flight departures across its busiest season. One new route will be Chicago’s sole direct service to the Italian city of Naples. Italy’s third biggest city is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and the home of Pizza. In addition to Naples, new routes will launch to Madrid, Spain, and Halifax, in Nova Scotia, Canada. With Naples in the pack, there will be up to ten daily flights to various European destinations, including three to London Heathrow (LHR).
Looking closer to home, there are five new domestic leisure-focused destinations, providing travelers plenty of options to explore the great outdoors. New routes this summer include:
- Bismarck (BIS)
- Boise (BOI)
- Colorado Springs (COS)
- Spokane (GEG
- Hyannis (HYA)
In addition to the above, America has increased its capacity for southeast routes, especially Florida.
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Traveling to Honolulu with American Airlines
For American Airlines, Chicago will join just three other US airports with direct services to Honolulu from the carrier. The airline already serves Honolulu with Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Sky-Harbour services.
Photo: Soos Joszef | Shutterstock
As already noted, the airline will compete head-to-head with rival United on its route from Chicago, where the Star Alliance carrier serves the island state alongside Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington Dulles, and seasonal services to Newark. Honolulu is also the gateway for the airline’s Micronesian routes, including Chuuk, Guam, Kosrae, Kwajalein, Majuro, and Pohnpei.
Delta Air Lines isn’t missing out either. It has the most destinations of any of the ‘Big Three’ and operates direct services from Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York JFK, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma, and Boston (seasonal). Other US carriers also providing direct links to the US mainland include Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian, and Southwest.
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