ByTed Reed,
Senior Contributor.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has again excoriated a key rival’s presence at Chicago O’Hare, saying that American Airlines will lose $1 billion at ORD this year while United makes more than $500 million.
Kirby spoke on United’s fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday morning. American responded early Thursday, calling Kirby’s repeated claims “inconsistent” and “unsubstantiated” American believes it sees continuing year-over-year gains in Chicago market share.
“While it’s clear that one hub carrier would prefer less competition at O’Hare, the inconsistent, third-party claims regarding our performance in Chicago are unsubstantiated,” an American spokeswoman said in an email. “Over the course of nearly a century, American Airlines has invested billions of dollars in its team, customers, operation and airport infrastructure in Chicago, which includes the addition of nearly 30 new destinations from O’Hare International Airport (ORD) this year alone.
