ORD To ASE

United Airlines will begin nonstop direct flights from Chicago to Aspen for the first time in the summer months this year. The return flight will require a stop in Denver for refueling.

The service is planned on Saturdays, according to Bill Tomcich, president of reservations agency Stay Aspen Snowmass and the resort's liaison to the airline industry.

A plan to extend the Aspen airport runway is in the works, but until that occurs, weight restrictions on takeoff during the warmer months of summer mean a direct flight back to Chicago isn't possible, he said.