United Airlines to offer Santa Barbara to Chicago flights
United Airlines will offer non-stop “red-eye” service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport from the Santa Barbara Airport starting on June 4, the airport announced Oct. 28.
The daily service will depart from SBA at 11:20 p.m. and arrive at ORD at 5:20 a.m. local time. The route will be served by an Airbus 319, with capacity of up to 128 passengers, and offer connections to more than 40 destinations across the Midwest and East Coast and more than a hundred destinations in Europe and the Caribbean.
“We are honored that United Airlines has chosen SBA for new service via its Chicago hub,” said Airport Director Henry Thompson. “Whether for business or leisure, we encourage everyone to take advantage of this service. It’s a great way to spend a full day in our beautiful city and arrive in Chicago, or on the East Coast, in the morning rather than during the evening rush hour. This nonstop flight will also shave hours off the typical routes via Denver, Los Angeles or San Francisco.”
The success in bringing this new and sought-after service is the result of a close partnership between Santa Barbara Airport and Visit Santa Barbara, according to a news release.
“The service is equally important for our tourism industry. We know that easy access from new markets can bring repeat visitors to our region year-round. Visit Santa Barbara looks forward to aggressively promoting this new service in Chicago,” says Kathy Janega-Dykes, CEO for Visit Santa Barbara.
Beginning Nov. 13, United will also offer service to Denver three to four times a day as Frontier Airlines transitions to seasonal service.
The Santa Barbara Airport is expected to serve nearly 1 million passengers in 2019 as the 13th largest airport in California.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Contour Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, and United Airlines serve the airport with 32 daily departures to eleven non-stop destinations: Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle.
