United Airlines has entered into an agreement to acquire usage rights to two Chicago O'Hare gates from Spirit Airlines for $30.2 million.
The arrangement, which was revealed by Spirit in a Feb. 3 court filing, must still be approved by the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court in a hearing scheduled for Feb. 24.
Spirit, which is going through a second Chapter 11 restructuring in less than a year, intends to use the proceeds to prepay a portion of the loans it has received during the restructuring.
United, O'Hare's largest carrier, is in a battle with American to control as many gates as possible at the airport.
Each year, the Chicago Department of Aviation reallocates gates based upon airline usage from the previous year. Based on 2024 usage, United gained five gates at O'Hare for the 12 months that started in October 2025, while American lost four.
Because American surged its O'Hare flying in 2025, United CEO Scott Kirby expects United to lose three gates when the next reallocation is completed.
American also recently acquired two O'Hare gates from Spirit. The budget carrier is downsizing its network in an attempt to remain solvent.