Bermuda still hopes to court back its Chicago connection with United Airlines — but, two years after the company’s merger with Continental, the Island faces an uphill battle.The verdict came from LF Wade International Airport General Manager Aaron Adderley.As United celebrated the anniversary with announcements of expanded non-stop flights, United Executive Vice President Jim Compton told The Royal Gazette there were no current plans to include the Island.“Right now, there is not,” Mr Compton said.“The way we think about routes and future routes, we’re always watching demand,” he explained. “We tend to match capacity with demand.”Bermuda keeps a daily Newark connection, but the Island lost its Chicago route with United in 2008.Mr Compton added: “Going forward, we’ll continue to watch how different destinations develop, and the demand associated with it, as well as the competitive landscape, and make decisions based on that demand, to match capacity.”United, based in Chicago, has invested in an ambitious range of new routes from there and other US hubs.For now, Mr Compton said, Bermuda at least stands to enjoy benefits such as the satellite-based Wi-Fi aboard its fleet, to be installed by 2015.The airline has also taken delivery of 50 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aeroplanes, which Mr Compton called “remarkable, wide-bodied, built for long-haul missions”.“Once we get all our proving runs done in the US, our first flights are going to be Los Angeles to Tokyo, Houston to Lagos — long-haul markets where we get the full efficiency of that savings,” Mr Compton said.According to Mr Adderley, high fuel prices are continuing to dictate where the world’s biggest airlines choose to fly.Speaking of the Bermuda’s original Chicago route with the pre-merger United Airlines, Mr Adderley said the flight’s service to the Island had shown improvement over each of the three years it came here from the US.“It was very encouraging,” added Mr Adderley. “Now, ordinarily, that would have been enough promise to warrant a return in year four and beyond.”He continued: “The dynamics of the airline industry have changed, drastically, with increases in fuel costs, and as a result the airlines have had to change just as drastically to keep afloat.“There’s been more consolidation, a reduction in seat capacity, and less fringe routes, domestically and internationally. There have been drastic increases in air fares because of the greater financial risk associated with flying. Unfortunately, we were not able to agree to the terms necessary to keep the route.”Unless the Island can show “tremendous demand from day one”, he said, winning back the Chicago link will prove difficult.“Having secured low-cost connections to Baltimore, New York JFK and Toronto over the past three years, and having secured additional service out of LaGuardia with Delta next year, our focus has been on ensuring the viability of those flights before we look at additional airlift.”Fuel costs remain “exorbitant”, even as airlines rein in other expenses.Chicago and Houston remain top US hubs for United, Mr Adderley also noted.“Which one we will pursue next is hard to say at this point,” he said.“I would venture to say Chicago, given the success we had in the past. At the moment, it’s difficult to say.”Useful website: www.airlines.com.