Earlier this week, WestJet announced it was launching service from Edmonton to Chicago. A few days later, United Airlines added the route to its schedule.
WestJet announced a significant network expansion a few days ago. Flights to the United States (US) will increase by 11% next summer, making up nearly 33% of the airline’s total operations. Summer 2025 will see WestJet expand its American network with seven new routes, three to new destinations.
WestJet’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, John Weatherill, said,
“WestJet’s expanded summer schedule reflects our continued commitment to connecting Canadians by increasing our domestic and international capacity. In Canada alone we are growing capacity by 12 percent, operating to 41 airports with over 3,000 weekly departures.”
Service from Edmonton International Airport (YEG) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is scheduled to launch on June 4th and operate thrice weekly through October 22nd.
The route to Chicago will complement the carrier’s service from Calgary, which will operate daily in July 2025.
A few days after WestJet announced its new route, United quietly added the same route to its network.
The Chicago-based carrier will operate flights on the same days as WestJet and at almost the same times. But, United will launch its flights at the end of May instead of in June.
On the leg departing Chicago, United is scheduled to leave ten minutes before WestJet and its arrival will be five minutes before the Canadian carrier.
In the opposite direction, both airlines will depart at the same time, with WestJet’s arrival scheduled for three minutes before United’s.
United has set its inaugural roundtrip price at $436. This price is for a basic economy fare, which includes a carry-on bag.
WestJet’s website shows the first flight from Edmonton to Chicago on June 4. But in the opposite direction, there is not a flight scheduled until Saturday, June 7th. Prices for the roundtrip start at $246.19, but unlike United, the fare does not include carry-on bags.
Data shows there are 774 flights scheduled from Edmonton to the US next July. Of these, 464 are WestJet’s, which has more than 70,000 seats on offer.
According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, four carriers are scheduled to operate service between Chicago and Canada next July. In total, there are 2,362 flights scheduled from O’Hare to Canada, but this does not include United’s new route to Edmonton.
With the addition of Edmonton, United will serve eight Canadian cities in July:
- Ottawa
- Quebec
- Montreal
- Vancouver
- Winnipeg
- Calgary
- Toronto
- Edmonton
WestJet only has 88 roundtrip flights scheduled in July on two routes. In addition to flying from Edmonton, the Canadian carrier will fly from Calgary. Service from Calgary will be daily, while Edmonton will remain thrice weekly throughout the summer.
Three different aircraft variants—the Boeing 737-700, -800, and MAX 8—will be deployed on the YEG-ORD route.
