Just after 11:15 a.m. Chicago time Thursday, Captain Bob Early and First Officer Pat Sullivan landed United Flight Runway 1, the first official flight to make use of O'Hare International Airport's new runway 9L/27R. The new runway is the next step in the ongoing O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP).
The city of Chicago requested that we fly the special charter flight, which departed from O'Hare, circled the city and landed back at the airport amid swirling snow, 30 degree temperatures and stiff wind. The Boeing 757 then parked in front of a crowd of several hundred, including civic leaders and FAA, OMP and airline employees, who were entertained by Chicago's own Bronzeville Military Academy ROTC band. Glenn Tilton and John Tague attended the event, along with dignitaries that included the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell (a former United line pilot) and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Our 757 landed on the first new runway to be added at O'Hare since 1971, guided in by the new 255-ft. North Air Traffic Control Tower, which began operations at 6 a.m. Thursday. Mayor Daley called the tower the most environmentally friendly tower ever built, with a 10,000 sq. ft. green rooftop. The mayor celebrated the cooperation of the business, labor, and political leaders, as well as federal, state and local employees, which was essential to the success of this phase of the modernization program.
Secretary Peters also delivered brief remarks to the crowd gathered in Chicago, having officiated at the opening of a new runway at Washington Dulles earlier in the morning and before continuing on to Seattle for her third new runway opening of the day. "Thanksgiving came a little bit early to Chicago, you could say," Peters said.
"In all those years [I flew for United], there was never an airport that could match this one in its ability to draw a crowd," Acting Administrator Sturgell said. "I suppose some worry what all the pomp and circumstance is all about. But I think we know better. Runways in aviation are the engines of freedom and economic power, and the lifeline of our communities. The FAA is working hard on other projects around the country to bring the same kind of benefits we're going to see in Chicago."
"We are extremely pleased to have landed the inaugural flight flawlessly just behind us, so I'd like to recognize our employees who are here with us today," Tilton said. "We appreciate all of your efforts and all of the contributions that you made to make this day special.
"The mayor and I had a moment to speak on the inaugural flight, and one of the things upon which we agreed was that just as airlines compete, cities compete. As the hometown airline, we've been committed to the modernization of O'Hare and the benefits it's going to bring to all of us -- to the community and to all of our employees. We're extremely excited about the operational improvement that it will also bring."
The new runway adds an additional all-weather runway to the airport, meaning that O'Hare can now support three arrival streams during bad weather situations, addressing one of O'Hare's biggest causes of delay.
All three new runways that opened on Thursday, at O'Hare, Washington Dulles and Seattle, are expected to improve overall service. At Dulles, a fourth runway opened, the first addition since the airport started operations in 1962. In Seattle, the new runway is the airport's third and is expected to cut delays at that airport in half since it will enable aircraft to take off and land side by side, even during bad weather.
The city of Chicago requested that we fly the special charter flight, which departed from O'Hare, circled the city and landed back at the airport amid swirling snow, 30 degree temperatures and stiff wind. The Boeing 757 then parked in front of a crowd of several hundred, including civic leaders and FAA, OMP and airline employees, who were entertained by Chicago's own Bronzeville Military Academy ROTC band. Glenn Tilton and John Tague attended the event, along with dignitaries that included the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell (a former United line pilot) and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Our 757 landed on the first new runway to be added at O'Hare since 1971, guided in by the new 255-ft. North Air Traffic Control Tower, which began operations at 6 a.m. Thursday. Mayor Daley called the tower the most environmentally friendly tower ever built, with a 10,000 sq. ft. green rooftop. The mayor celebrated the cooperation of the business, labor, and political leaders, as well as federal, state and local employees, which was essential to the success of this phase of the modernization program.
Secretary Peters also delivered brief remarks to the crowd gathered in Chicago, having officiated at the opening of a new runway at Washington Dulles earlier in the morning and before continuing on to Seattle for her third new runway opening of the day. "Thanksgiving came a little bit early to Chicago, you could say," Peters said.
"In all those years [I flew for United], there was never an airport that could match this one in its ability to draw a crowd," Acting Administrator Sturgell said. "I suppose some worry what all the pomp and circumstance is all about. But I think we know better. Runways in aviation are the engines of freedom and economic power, and the lifeline of our communities. The FAA is working hard on other projects around the country to bring the same kind of benefits we're going to see in Chicago."
"We are extremely pleased to have landed the inaugural flight flawlessly just behind us, so I'd like to recognize our employees who are here with us today," Tilton said. "We appreciate all of your efforts and all of the contributions that you made to make this day special.
"The mayor and I had a moment to speak on the inaugural flight, and one of the things upon which we agreed was that just as airlines compete, cities compete. As the hometown airline, we've been committed to the modernization of O'Hare and the benefits it's going to bring to all of us -- to the community and to all of our employees. We're extremely excited about the operational improvement that it will also bring."
The new runway adds an additional all-weather runway to the airport, meaning that O'Hare can now support three arrival streams during bad weather situations, addressing one of O'Hare's biggest causes of delay.
All three new runways that opened on Thursday, at O'Hare, Washington Dulles and Seattle, are expected to improve overall service. At Dulles, a fourth runway opened, the first addition since the airport started operations in 1962. In Seattle, the new runway is the airport's third and is expected to cut delays at that airport in half since it will enable aircraft to take off and land side by side, even during bad weather.
