United Airlines Expands Service Between South Bend and Chicago with New Aircraft and Increased Flights
United Airlines is increasing flying between South Bend International Airport (SBN) and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). United currently operates six daily roundtrip flights between the two airports. On September 2, 2025, that increases to seven daily roundtrip flights and will increase to eight daily roundtrip flights on October 1, 2025. These flights allow for maximum flexibility for business and leisure travelers providing seamless connections to over 180 destinations across the U.S. and worldwide from United’s Chicago hub.
United will begin an accelerated transition to Bombardier CRJ-550 aircraft, the world’s only 50-seat regional aircraft offering true first-class seating and other premium amenities – including 10 United First seats with more legroom and premium services and 20 Economy Plus seats with more legroom per seat compared to standard economy. The aircraft offers more overall legroom than any other 50-seat aircraft flown by a domestic airline, with space for every customer to bring a carry-on roller bag onboard, a self-serve refreshment center for United First customers featuring a wide assortment of snacks and beverages, and the ability to stay connected inflight with Starlink Wi-Fi – the world's fastest, most reliable connectivity in the sky – by the end of the year. Half of the schedule will offer CRJ-550 flights in October with the goal of entirely transitioning to dual-cabin aircraft in 2026.
“We are grateful for United’s continued commitment to get passengers where they want to go, when they need to get there,” said Mike Daigle, CEO and executive director of South Bend International Airport. “With football season quickly approaching, this increased capacity provides fans with even more options to easily get to games and will remain after the season concludes. This capacity increase is a result of more travelers choosing to fly to and from SBN.”
“From football games to holidays and all the moments in between – we’re excited to offer our customers with increased connectivity between Chicago and South Bend,” said Mark Weithofer, United’s Managing Director of Domestic Network Planning. “This gives our customers not only greater access between the two cities, but also around the world – taking them to all the places they want to go.”