Virgin Seeks To Add Chicago's O'Hare To Its Portfolio

Virgin America hopes to add an eighth city to its network by beginning service later this year between San Francisco and Los Angeles to and from Chicago. If the airline’s request is approved to serve O’Hare, it will compete against United and American that both have non-stop flights linking the two West Coast cities with Chicago.

The discount carrier currently serves New York, Washington, San Diego, Seattle, and Las Vegas as well as San Francisco and LA.  Virgin America hopes to grab a share of the market by offering lower fares, but I expect both United and American will immediately drop some of its prices to match Virgin and perhaps offer bonus frequent flyer miles, as well.

Chicago’s O’Hare is under a federal cap limiting service to the airport because it’s so busy. So Virgin will need government permission to add flights. Currently, United and American dominate service to and from O’Hare.