Originally Posted by
jerryleber
“Last year, United operated 52% of total ORD departures but only had 48% of gates,” Vice President of United O’Hare hub Omar Idris told employees Tuesday in an email. “Since we have been growing at O’Hare, United expects to gain six gates.”
If approved by the Chicago Department of Aviation, that would bring United’s gate total from 88 to 94.
The gates would be reassigned from ones being used by other airlines with hub connectivity being a major factor in the decision, United officials explained.
[...]
Idris noted the carrier’s investment in large narrow-body jets like the Airbus A321neo and Boeing MAX9 means “we’re flying more seats from Chicago than we have in the past 20 years and hired nearly 2,000 employees in Illinois last year.”
It's a shame gates aren't reassigned by a more equitable measure such as passenger counts. That would seem to give UAL even more gates, since with presumably higher gauge were are moving more people per gate. By ratio to mainline, I believe we have fewer RJs in ORD.
At an airport with capacity issues, it clearly seems that using total seat counts would encourage a more efficient use of gates...