Chicago O’Hare International Airport has finally broken ground on a long-awaited new concourse. The $1.3 billion expansion, known as Concourse D, marks the airport’s first major terminal construction in years. The project has faced repeated delays since it was first announced in 2018.
Now, it is slated for completion in 2028. Officials say the new facility will help modernize one of the country’s largest airports, adding capacity and updated passenger amenities as part of the airport’s broader redevelopment program.
What Concourse D Will Bring To Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Photo: City of Chicago
The new Concourse D was designed by Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in collaboration with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects, and Arup. It will span 590,000 square feet across three levels and add 19 gates to O’Hare. Most are planned for narrowbody aircraft, though 18 of them can be combined into nine positions for larger widebodies, according to the Office of the Mayor.
In addition, the concourse will feature more than 20,000 square feet of lounge space, 30,000-square feet of retail and dining, and a 450-square-foot children’s play area. At the north end, it will also have a 40-foot-high atrium featuring an oculus skylight, which is designed to bring natural daylight to all three levels of the concourse. Besides, the new facility will also connect directly to Concourse C through a bridge. Michael McMurray, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, said:
“By breaking ground in Concourse D, we are taking a critical first step toward enhancing how the airport welcomes and serves more than 80 million passengers each year. We are also proud to introduce ORDNext, a new stage of development in the O’Hare 21 capital program that will elevate the passenger experience, improve connections between domestic and international flights, and increase the airport’s footprint to accommodate future growth.”
Concourse D Is Part Of Chicago O’Hare’s $8.5 Billion ORDNext Redevelopment Program
Photo: City of Chicago
Concourse D is part of ORDNext, Chicago O’Hare’s wider $8.5 billion redevelopment program. The project was first announced in 2018 but faced delays due to extended negotiations between the city and airlines. It will be followed by a second facility, Concourse E, which will add 24 additional gates. The plan also includes replacing Terminal 2 with a new O’Hare Global Terminal and building an underground tunnel to link passengers, baggage, and employees across the expanded facilities.
Alongside these large-scale developments, several other upgrades are already in progress. Last year, the airport started working on the $300 million ElevateT3 program, which is the first major investment in Terminal 3 since the 1980s. The project includes a three-story expansion, which will introduce a new baggage sorting area, airline lounge, relocated claim facilities, added carousels, and modernized support spaces.
The project is expected to finish in 2027. Besides, Terminal 5 has already been expanded with ten new gates and a multi-story parking structure. In addition, dozens of runway and taxiway upgrades have been carried out to improve safety and support future capacity growth.
The New Concourse D To Open In 2028
Photo: City of Chicago
Concourse D is scheduled to open in 2028, and the full ORDNext redevelopment program is expected to be completed by 2032. Site preparation for the new concourse already begun in 2023, with work including construction of temporary taxiways, a grade-separated roadway, and the reconfiguration of Taxiway B.
Additionally, three temporary gates were added to Concourse C, which opened last year. Furthermore, just last month, Chicago O’Hare Airport started demolishing existing taxiways. This will be followed by about six months of excavation, with vertical construction scheduled to begin in spring 2026.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport
IATA Code
ORD
City
Chicago
Designation
Major-International
Indeed, this project can be transformative when executed successfully. The project has already drawn strong backing from major hub carriers like United Airlines and American Airlines, who see the upgrades as essential for long-term competitiveness. Still, looks are one thing and function another. Whether the new concourses deliver the passenger experience and operational improvements promised will only become clear once they open.
The Airbus A330-800neo is one of two variants in the Airbus A330neo family, with the other being the A330-900neo. The A330neo is an upgrade over the original A330 variants, with new engines, updated wingtips, interior improvements, and software upgrades. The A330-900, directly succeeding the A330-300, has proven effective and has even found love in the United Statesat Delta Air Lines. Contrastingly, the A330-800 has been shunned in the US.
In some ways, you can consider the start of the A330neo to be the original A350 program. To compete against the Boeing 787, Airbus took the A330 family and added new engines along with a carbon-composite wing and a new cockpit. Airlines largely rejected the concept, prompting Airbus to create a clean-sheet aircraft, the A350 XWB, and move up in size. The A330neo was developed in the 2010s to slot underneath the A350 in price and capability.
The Airlines That Don’t Want The Airbus A330-800
Photo: Dirk Daniel Mann | Shutterstock
The A330-800 is Airbus’s smallest widebody, and given that the US is home to more Boeing 767s (a similarly-sized twinjet) than any other nation in the world, you’d expect the European manufacturer to make significant efforts to sell this jet here. However, Airbus hasn’t sold a single A330-800to a US airline. This is especially surprising considering that the prior A330-200 has been reasonably successful in the country, being operated by Delta, Hawaiian, and, previously, American Airlines.
United Airlines currently flies 53 aging Boeing 767s, but has committed to the 787 to replace these planes. Hawaiian Airlines, a current A330-200 operator, ordered Boeing 787-9s to replace its Airbus widebodies, although these planes are now slated to remain in service while the Dreamliners get transferred to Alaska Airlines. For American Airlines, meanwhile, its 767 and A330 fleets were fully retired during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 787 serving as their replacement.
Only four airlines in the US operate passenger widebodies in scheduled service, and by and large, they have opted for the similarly sized Boeing 787. This is despite the fact that these planes are replacing the Boeing 767 or Airbus A330, which are optimized for medium-haul routes, similar to the Airbus A330neo. Notably, Hawaiian Airlines formerly held orders for six Airbus A330-800s, but cancelled them in favor of the Dreamliners.
Why Delta Air Lines Isn’t Buying Them
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
Delta Air Lines is the largest operator of the Airbus A330-900 in the world and the largest operator of the A330 series as a whole. It operates 11 A330-200s, 31 A330-300s, and 37 A330-900s with two more on order, but has never ordered the A330-800, and has not announced plans to obtain more A330neos. What’s surprising is that the A330-900s were slated to partially replace the Boeing 767-300ER fleet, an aircraft significantly smaller than the A330-900.
You’d expect Delta to replace these aircraft with the A330-800, given that it would be far closer in size to the 767. However, going with the larger A330-900 instead was a conscious choice. Delta is looking to upgauge its entire network, replacing A320s and 737s with A321neos and 737 MAX 10s, while 767s are to be replaced with larger widebodies. Delta is looking to lower per-seat economics, and larger aircraft variants are cheaper to operate per-seat than smaller variants.
Aircraft Types In Service With Delta
Aircraft Types On Order By Delta
Airbus A220-100
Airbus A220-300
Airbus A220-300
Airbus A321neo
Airbus A319-100
Airbus A330-900
Airbus A320-200
Airbus A350-900
Airbus A321-200
Airbus A350-1000
Airbus A321neo
Boeing 737 MAX 10
Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330-300
Airbus A330-900
Airbus A350-900
Boeing 717-200
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-900ER
Boeing 757-200
Boeing 757-300
Boeing 767-300ER
Boeing 767-400ER
Delta only has two A330-900s left on order. It’s expected that at least part of its remaining A350 order will displace existing A330-900s that can replace the remaining 767-300ERs, which would again be a system-wide upgauge. Meanwhile, it’s been heavily speculated that the Atlanta-based carrier is looking to order Boeing 787-10s. With a possible delivery date in the early 2030s, these could replace older A330s and the Boeing 767-400ER, while also being a significant upgauge over both types.
Why The Airbus A330-800 Is Not Selling
Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock
In the US, Delta is looking to upgauge its entire network, while other carriers are focusing on the Boeing 787. However, the A330-800 has also sold poorly around the world, with only eight total orders, while the A330-900 has received nearly 440. Seven have already been delivered: four to Kuwait Airways, two to Uganda Airlines, and one to Air Greenland. One more example is reported to have been ordered in an executive configuration.
The A330-800 is a direct replacement for the Airbus A330-200, which, in Delta’s premium-heavy configuration, seats 223 passengers. At the other end of the spectrum, Hawaiian’s leisure-focused A330-200s seat 278. With the new winglets and more efficient Rolls-Royce Trent 7000, the A330-800 now has a range of 8,100 NM (15,000 km) at a Maximum Takeoff Weight of 251 tonnes, and this is the issue.
The A330-200 that the A330-800 is based on was developed as a shrink of the original A330-300 (replaced by the A330-900). As such, the A330-200/800 is more expensive to operate per-seat than its larger counterparts. In the past, the A330-200 sold due to its additional range, but as the A330-300 grew more capable, sales for the A330-200 dried up. With the A330-900 now having up to 7,350 NM (13,600 km) of range, almost no airline is willing to sacrifice economics for the extra miles.
The Decline Of Short-Fuselage Variants
Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock
In airliner design, manufacturers typically create the base design (Airbus A320, Boeing 757-200, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 777-200), then they will either shrink the fuselage (Airbus A319, Airbus A330-200) or stretch the fuselage (Boeing 757-300, Boeing 777-300). Shrinking typically results in a more capable plane with higher per-seat costs, while a stretched variant boasts the best per-seat costs but also has less range.
Manufacturers don’t always develop their aircraft in this manner (both Airbus A350 variants are optimized for their size), but this is typically how commercial aircraft are designed. This approach generally proved successful, as the A330-200 made up 46% of passenger A330ceo sales, while the A319, A320, and A321 were all popular. For first-generation A320 variants, only the A318 was a sales flop, with this variant being a shrink of a shrink.
Today, however, the A330-800 is far from the only reengined shrink that’s been unpopular. The A319neo has only received 57 orders, while slightly over 300 orders have been received for the Boeing 737 MAX 7. The 777-8’s development has been paused, and even sales for the Boeing 787-8 have slowed down dramatically. As the larger version of an airliner becomes more capable, such as during a re-engine program, demand for the shrink disappears.
Why Airbus Doesn’t Care About Selling A330-800s
Photo: EA Photography | Shutterstock
From a manufacturer’s position, a shrink allows you to capture a broader segment of the market by addressing the shortcomings of the original model. However, such jets are priced lower than a larger model, but cost practically the same to produce, thereby generating lower profit margins. Manufacturers prefer to sell larger variants whenever possible, as they generate the highest profits.
When significant demand exists for a smaller aircraft that is more capable, manufacturers will price it competitively. The sale price is a significant component in whether an airliner wins an order, and, as such, selling an A330-200 may have yielded lower profits than an A330-300 in the past, but this was still preferable over losing an order to the Boeing 767.
With the A330-800, however, airlines aren’t lining up to buy it, and Airbus spent little on developing it. The A330-900 captures nearly all of the market, and this variant generates higher profit margins. As such, Airbus is incentivized to price the A330-900 competitively, while the A330-800 has low demand and generates lower profits, so Airbus likely budges little on pricing. This lowers demand for the A330-800 even further, but Airbus would still rather sell more A330-900s.
The Bottom Line
The Airbus A330-800 has been sold to three airlines. This is the only widebody in Air Greenland’s fleet and is used for flights to Copenhagen, directly replacing an Airbus A330-200. For Kuwait Airways and Uganda Airlines, the type serves as a small, efficient, cheap widebody that has incredible capability. Kuwait Airways also operates the A330-900, making it easier for the airline to integrate it into the fleet.
While the A330-800 has so far proven a sales dud, Airbus is not focused on the variant’s individual orderbook. Rather, Airbus aims to make money on the A330neo program as a whole, and selling more A330-900s appears to be a winning strategy for the European planemaker. As such, the A330-800 will likely go down as one of the industry’s rarest birds, similar to other reengined shrinks like the Airbus A319neo.
Digitizing maintenance and other aircraft records would help streamline MRO visits and transactions, such as lease transfers.
Credit: Chris Rank/Airbus
Years from now, when seamless digital record transfers are as routine as clouds in the sky, many will cite the AOG Technics fraud in 2023 as the event that sparked a fundamental shift in how aviation keeps tabs on aircraft assets. They will be right—sort of. AOG Technics, a London-based company that…
Senior Air Transport & Safety Editor Sean Broderick covers aviation safety, MRO, and the airline business from Aviation Week Network’s Washington, D.C. office.
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From 2011 (YouTube Edition): Rugged, Legendary, STOL Twin Makes A Comeback The de Havilland Twin Otter is an airplane with a long history, and it gained a reputation as a workhorse of an airplane. But after it went out of production, Viking Air became one of the principal suppliers of spare parts and service to keep the airplanes flying. Dave Curtis, President and CEO of Viking Air Limited, told ANN at NBAA in Las Vegas this year that he often heard operators ask why the airplane wasn’t put back into production.
United Airlines
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
