There is NEVER an excuse for UA not to have gates at its primary hub for any flight at any time. The only time a flight MAY have to hold temporarily is if a severe lightning/thunder storm is passing, and those are usually 20 minutes or less. UA or UX, it is inexcusable to leave passengers stranded on planes while gates sit empty. The weather this week in ORD has been fine. They have significantly cut capacity over the last couple of years, and still they pull this "penalty box" crap. The only penalty seems to go against passengers.