American Airlines finally reaches agreement for O’Hare expansion
American Airlines, United Airlines and Chicago O’Hare Airport seem to have settled their differences.
American has now agreed to support the $8.5 billion planned expansion after the airport agreed to speed up the construction of three gates.
American Airlines had threatened to derail the huge expansion project after accusing the airport of a ‘secret deal’ to give Chicago-based United more gates.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office said the city will now expedite the building of the three gates which can be used by any airline.
The two carriers also released a joint statement saying an agreement has been reached on the number of gates to be assigned to each.
"The number of gates assigned to each airline remains the same as the proposal introduced to City Council in February; however, the city has committed to working with American to expedite the construction of three common use gates," the statement said.
AA had been opposed to the wording in the airport lease which it argued would give United sole use of five out of eight gates which were designated for common use.
"This agreement is a watershed moment for Chicago, and it means we will create tens of thousands of jobs for Chicagoans from every part of the city," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
Last month American had decried a ‘last minute secret deal’ give the gates to United and had threatened to block the project.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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