JetBlue Airways has secured four landing slots at Chicago O'Hare despite objections from United Airlines.
The FAA in mid-October approved half of JetBlue's request for eight landing slots, marking the low-cost carrier's deepest foray into a legacy-dominated hub. United had objected to JetBlue's application, claiming it was not eligible to receive any slots at O'Hare.
United and American now dominate O'Hare, with over 600 and 500 daily domestic flights, respectively, giving them a 90% duopoly on domestic services. Most of Chicago's low-cost service is at smaller Midway Airport, where Southwest and AirTran have major operations and both American and United pulled out earlier this year. The only low-cost presence at O'Hare is now provided by three daily flights from Spirit Airlines and an irregular schedule to five resorts offered by USA 3000.
United's internal low-cost unit, Ted, has a significant presence at O'Hare, but JetBlue claims it will be able to offer keener low-cost competition. JetBlue has not yet revealed which routes it will launch from O'Hare but it must start flights by 27 January. JetBlue has looked at the Chicago market for almost five years and its new O'Hare service will be its first in the Upper Midwest region.
Source: Airline Business
