American adds new longest domestic route

American Airlines is showering its hub at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) with some sunshine.

The airline will relaunch flights between ORD and Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on Oct. 26, American announced last week.

The route will offer Chicagoans an escape from the cold during the winter. American will deploy its 234-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on the route, featuring 20 Flagship Business pods, 28 premium economy recliners, 48 Main Cabin Extra seats and 138 standard economy seats.

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Flights will operate on a daily basis through Jan. 6, 2026. Flights will depart Chicago at 9:45 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 3 p.m. The return flight will leave Honolulu at 7 p.m. and arrive the next morning at 7:10 a.m.

American last operated this route in September 2021, according to Cirium schedules.

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The airline has flown this route off and on over the years. Back in the early 2000s, American flew it twice daily and then downgraded it to once-daily service in mid-2005. The route was then scrapped in January 2014 and restarted four years later in December 2018, Cirium data shows.

At 4,244 miles, this will become American's longest domestic route, surpassing the current longest from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Honolulu by about 500 miles.

For American, sending a Dreamliner to Hawaii makes sense in the winter. That's the season when wide-body planes have spare capacity, as they're not fully utilized on transatlantic missions to popular spots in Europe.

In addition to Hawaii, U.S. airlines like to add service to cities in Oceania and the South Pacific during the winter season.

But Hawaii is likely the "surest bet" of all the possible uses for a Dreamliner in the winter, so it'll be interesting to see how this route fares — and whether the operating window will be extended and if it'll return for another season.

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