Americans VP of OHare operations, Ben Humphrey, on its Chicago build-up

Q: Why are you growing so aggressively at OHare?

Q: Why are you growing so aggressively at OHare? A: First and foremost, weve been in Chicago for 70-plus years. ... When you look at our overall global network, Chicago is our access point to the upper Midwest. We want to grow that. Q: United has advantages there. Theyre bigger, their passenger yields are significantly more than yours. How do you overcome or reverse those dynamics? A: I think one way is a consistent product. Locally, our game plan is to wow the customer with service. So, better on-time performance, better bag performance, a more polite and welcoming environment than the competition. Q: Across the network, American has put a bigger emphasis over the past year on the customer experience. What are you doing at OHare in that respect?   A: Last year we introduced new kiosks. They are so much faster than our older kiosks. The user interface is more friendly, and it allows people to get through our lobby quicker. We also have technology that helps us make sure folks board when they are supposed to board, which is appreciated by our premium customers. We took our newest and most luxurious 787 aircraft and put those into Chicago first. We also deployed technology that uses AI to better connect late inbound aircraft. Where historically we may not have held flights, AI helps us determine if there really is a down-line problem, and if there is, were making sure we facilitate those connections more. Q: Anything else? A: Gates are at a premium in Chicago, so weve been taking our existing footprint and getting creative with some gate solutions as well as [taxiing] alleyways. For example, one of our alleys in the L Concourse used to be a single taxi lane. We basically sucked in the planes at the gate to create enough space to have a dual alleyway, which allows parallel operations. Example number two is with our existing gating footprint. We have widebody gates, which take up more room than narrowbody and regional, but in the mornings when we operate widebodies less, weve created a narrowbody configuration that gives us another opportunity to park other aircraft. Q: Your OHare widebody operation is especially smaller than Uniteds, especially in winter. What are your plans in that respect? A: In the wintertime, we know thats an opportunity for growth. Some of our existing cities that are seasonal, were extending the season. So that basically means more seats going over the [Atlantic]. Youll see that continue. Lets not forget about our partners, too. We have great partnerships with British Airways, Iberia and JAL. With the combination of our partners and American Airlines, we have a very large presence, and were working on making that presence grow even larger. The number one constraint [is gates] right now, but were in the process of figuring that out. Q: United announced its own plans to push back at OHare by accelerating its own growth. I guess that didnt surprise you. A: Yeah, were not surprised by it. United is going to grow. Were going to grow. What it means for Chicagoans is more choices. And we want people to try American for the first time or come back to American or continue flying American.