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American Airlines is expanding its international profile at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
The Oneworld alliance carrier will add new service from ORD to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) on March 27, 2027, American said Wednesday. The daily flight marks a return for American to the ORD-NRT market after a seven-year hiatus.
American will fly a Boeing 787-9 on the ORD-NRT route — not one of their posh 787-9Ps with 51 business class suites, but their standard layout with just 30 suites.
The airline will also add two new domestic routes from ORD:
- Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO) in Virginia, twice daily on an Embraer E170 from Nov. 2
- Ontario International Airport (ONT) in California, daily on a Boeing 737 from Nov. 7
American’s ORD additions come amid fierce competition with United Airlines at the airport. Both carriers added dozens of new flights and routes this summer in an effort to game the airport’s gate assignment system, which is based on the number of flights flown during the past year. However, the Federal Aviation Administration stepped in earlier this year to cap flights at ORD to avoid congestion and forced both American and United to pare back their planned summer schedules.
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United serves CHO and ONT from ORD, and it will begin ORD-NRT flights in October, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. All Nippon Airways also flies to ORD from both Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) and NRT.
A Narita flight for Asia
American’s new ORD-NRT flight is about a lot more than Tokyo. It will operate as part of the joint venture with Japan Airlines and connect to the Japanese carrier’s network of onward connections into Asia.
According to Cirium schedules, JAL serves 12 destinations beyond NRT in Asia, including Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).
The Japanese carrier even cited connectivity to North American when it added NRT-DEL in January.
Connectivity is important. Cirium schedules show that American is a distant third to Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in Asia, based on seats. And while Delta and United boast an extensive list of nonstop flights to the region, American only serves four cities (five airports, including both HND and NRT) and relies heavily on its partners.
Members of American’s AAdvantage loyalty program receive reciprocal benefits, including lounge access and priority boarding, on JAL under the carriers’ partnership.
American flew ORD-NRT from 1998 through 2020, according to Cirium schedules. Nowadays, only its partner, JAL, flies between Chicago and Tokyo, with a daily flight to HND and NRT.
Currently, American serves HND from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). It also flies DFW-NRT.
