Restoring O'Hare as a Premier Transportation Hub That Delivers the Levels Of Service That Consumers Demand Requires New Runways


United Outlines a Five-Point Framework for Capacity Improvements at O'Hare
International Airport

CHICAGO, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) today issued the following statement on addressing the capacity issues and ensuing service delays that are the topic of today's U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Field Hearing, being held in Chicago:

"We are pleased that service delays at O'Hare and their effects throughout the nation's aviation system are at the top of the local, federal and national agenda. We believe there is only one viable solution to delivering the long-term improvements in capacity needed to restore O'Hare as a premier transportation hub. That solution is new runways at O'Hare and other key airports around the country.

O'Hare is the critical economic engine for the city, state, and regional economy. It contributes between $27 billion and $34 billion to the regional economy and provides 365,000-455,000 jobs with a payroll of between $8.4 billion and $10.6 billion annually.

That economic engine has stalled as the Midwest continues to grow other hubs. O'Hare's lack of growth stands to drain nearly $10 billion annually from the economy. O'Hare's lack of growth has led to a consumer crisis of escalating service delays. United has invested nearly $350 million this year to improve our reliability, but we know that customer frustration will remain high until new runways are built to introduce much-needed capacity into the system. We believe a successful plan to restore O'Hare must deliver on the following:

1. Relive congestion and delays

2. More service to small communities

3. More international nonstop destinations

4. More frequency to popular destinations

5. Restore Chicago as the premier transportation hub

The only way to deliver on these five core goals is to craft a comprehensive capacity plan for O'Hare that delivers new runways."

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It's just a matter of time before the runways come, nimby's are losing.