Erie airport lands two major carriers for Chicago route

ERIE, Pa. — An airport north of Pittsburgh received two shots of good news this month, with American Airlines and United Airlines announcing within a day of each other that they would fly the Chicago-Erie International Tom Ridge Field route beginning next year.

American (Nasdaq: AAL) plans to resume year-round service between Erie and Chicago O’Hare International Airport on May 21, 2026, with a 65-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet. Then United Airlines, which has a hub at O’Hare, announced it would resume its own Chicago-Erie service. United’s three daily flights will begin June 1, 2026, with its SkyWest regional airline partner and 50-seat Bombardier CRJ550 jets.

Both jets have first-class seating; American’s CRJ-700 has three classes of service.

American and United go head-to-head in Chicago, where United was granted five more gates and American got two more from Spirit Airlines. The two airlines will also compete head-to-head at Tri Cities in eastern Tennessee for the first time in 2026.

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