Bankrupt Spirit Airlines has requested to sell two gates—G12 and G14 in Concourse G—at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to United Airlines for $30.2 million, according to a Tuesday court filing.
Spirit in early December also sold two of its O'Hare gates to American Airlines for $30 million.
United and American have been battling over gates at O'Hare since early 2025 when the City of Chicago took five gates from American and gave them to United.
During United's Jan. 21 earnings call, CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier was "drawing a line in the sand," about American gaining any additional new gates, but added that "we're not trying to win gates, but we're going to add as many flights as are required to make sure that we keep our gate count the same in Chicago."
That sentiment appears to have changed with the acquisition, if approved, of the two gates from Spirit.
Spirit received "best and final proposals" for the gates from United and "another major airline," and determined that transferring the gates to United "will yield the highest and otherwise best offer" and "will provide a greater recovery for their estates than any known or practicably available alternative," according to the filing.
Should the gate transfer get approved, "we expect to begin operating from these gates late in the second quarter," United VP of O'Hare Omar Idris wrote in a Thursday memo to employees. "One of the gates will return to the [Chicago Department of Aviation] for reallocation at the end of September, and the other will remain with us longer term. … Let me reiterate what Scott and others have said about what this means for us. Our focus remains simple: having the right number of gates to run the operation our customers deserve. Nothing more, nothing less. We are not looking to gain gates at the expense of competitors."
The objection deadline for the proposed transfer is Feb. 17. A hearing for the transfer request is scheduled for Feb. 24 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
American did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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