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AA Guide: ORD / Chicago O'Hare International Airport - MCT, Connection, etc.

Old Oct 18, 2015, 7:37 pm
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Last edit by: TEDisgone
Please edit or add information to this wiki as necessary.

At Chicago OHare (ORD), American Airlines operates out of Terminal 3



AA Ticket counters Open daily: 3:30am to 10:00pm
Flagship Check-in: Yes
Five Star Service: Yes
Curbside check-in: International only


Check-in times
In most locations, you must be checked in:
At least 45 minutes before scheduled departure, for flights within the United States
At least 60 minutes before scheduled departure, for flights to or from airports outside of the United States


Peculiarities:
ORD can be affected by winter storms or very heavy air traffic; ground holds even at incoming flights' departures airports, are not uncommon at these times. Knock-on effects during lengthy IROPS can manifest themselves systemwide.

NOTE: AA has 66 gates at Terminal 3, and has added five more at Concourse. Alaska, Iberia, and Japan Airlines all depart AA T-3. Alaska has moved to Terminal 2. All international arrivals are at Terminal 5, many international departures as well. AB, BA, CX, EY, QR, RJ depart T-5.

International arrivals from Canada airports without USCBP pre-clearance are sometimes listed as arriving at "IAB" - International Arrivals Building. These aircraft's passengers will not arrive at T-3 as domestic passengers; by Federal law, they must be cleared by USCBP, and that facility is at T-5.

There is no airside connection T-3 <--> T-5; one must go landside and use the free "ATS" airport train. Flyers connecting to BA departing T-5 may use the airside shuttle bus departing near gates G17 and K20. Every half hour 11 am - 9 pm. Sign with orange dot. TTB SERVICE HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED - TTB service takes travelers from the domestic terminals (1, 2, & 3) to Terminal 5 without having to exit security or be rescreened in Terminal 5 at the TSA​ checkpoint. [Still suspended as of 4/30/2022] Airside connection has been restored March 1, 2023 - SEE BELOW


Operating terminals and gates
Terminal 1 is used by All Nippon Airlines (Departures), Ethiopian (Departures), Lufthansa (Departures), and United.

Terminal 2 is used by Air Canada, Alaska, Delta, and previously US Airways, jetBlue, along with many United Express flights.

Terminal 3 is used by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and for departures only by Iberia and Japan Airlines (exception: arriving international flights that have been USCBP cleared, e.g. originating in Canada or DUB, arrive at Terminal 3 as domestic flights). Other airlines flying domestically and not mentioned above are also handled in Terminal 3.

Concourse G is used mostly for American Eagle flights
Concourse H and K are used for mainline flights
Concourse K gates 12-20 are typically used for international flights
Concourse L is used mostly for American Eagle flights (as well as non-oneworld carriers)

Terminal 5 is now both an international and domestic terminal. Among the international flights, the following oneworld carriers depart and arrive here: British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, Finnair, Qatar Airways, and Royal Jordanian; arriving international American Airlines, Iberia and Japan Airlines flights all arrive here as well. In fact, all arriving international passengers from places without pre-clearance will arrive at Terminal 5.

Domestic carriers now using Terminal 5 are: Delta and Delta Shuttle, Frontier, Southwest, and Sun Country.


Getting from terminal to terminal
Landside transfers are normally done by using the Airport Transit System train, which also connects to the airport car parks. The ATS is currently out of service with substitute buses operating at present. April 18, 2022: ATS service has been fully restored and is operating 24/7 daily.

Terminals are connected by frequent landside buses, and AA T3 - International T5 are connected by an airside Terminal Transit Bus (TTB). If you have a boarding pass for your connection (or a printed itinerary of flight confirmation), you can use this bus, boarding at G17 or K20 and arriving airside at T5 Gate M1. The TTB runs 7 days a week, 1100 / 11 am to 2100 / 9 pm while the ATS is shut down, but seasonally and with shorter hours when it is. At other times you must exit landside and use the landside bus.

If you arrive at O'Hare on an international flight you will arrive at Terminal 5. If you have a connecting domestic flight from T1-2-3. You must use the landside bus to T3 after you process Immigration and exit Customs. You will be required to pass through security at T3. Landside busses are frequent.
May 1, 2022: Shuttle buses ended.

Airside:
walking corridors connect Terminals 1, 2 and 3 between terminals. (ATS landslide train must be used to connect to or from Terminal 5 outside of shuttle bus operating times.)

For those holding boarding passes on same day flights out of Terminal 5 (International Terminal), a shuttle bus will operate from T-3 (From Gates G17 and K20) to T-5 (Gate M13) between 11:30 am and 9:30 pm. [Still suspended as of 4/30/2022] March 1, 2023: Service restored. Connecting Traveler Information


Walking between terminals
Walking airside between terminals airside is possible (other than Terminal 5). There are no shortcuts and it can take significant time.


Arrival at the airport:
Within the U.S. as well as flights to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, check in:
At least 30 minutes prior to departure (if not checking bags)
At least 45 minutes prior to departure when checking bags

For flights to international destinations check in:
At least two hours prior to departure to complete all necessary international requirements


Minimum time for checking in and arriving at the gate
To better ensure an on-time departure, our goal is to close the jetbridge door 10 minutes before departure time. This allows all customers to board and stow their belongings. (AA may release your seat if you show up at your gates less than 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure.)

To retain your pre-reserved seat on a confirmed flight, make sure to follow the minimum check in and gate arrival times.*


Time to baggage delivery:
minimum 20 minutes


Security at ORD
May 2016: security queues have been quite lengthy at times, requiring up to an hour to pass through security, even at PreCheck queues. Options include:

If you have Flagship Check-In privileges, they will place you at the head of the security queue next to that check-in area.

You may choose to process security at Terminal 2 and walk airside to the AA gates (UA is only slightly better than AA). If you have CLEAR, you might want to consider clearing security here.

The mid-terminal Pre-Check line tends to be better than the one at priority security.

Note: coming out from International Terminal Arrivals immigration and customs, you are landside and may find yourself with two options: leave the building land side, or take the escalators or lifts to the ATS train platform to proceed to the other terminals or remote parking lot. To access the other terminals, you will have to process through TSA security.


What is the domestic to domestic or to international Minimum Connection Time (MCT)?
The minimum connect time at ORD, domestic to domestic or international, is 0:40 minutes. Domestic to international is easy if your international flight departs the AA terminal, but domestic to International terminal is comfortably done in 2:00 (not the official MCT, 1:15), because of the lack of connectedness between terminals. International arrival at Terminal 5 with flight departing Terminal 3, Global Entry is likely to allow 2:00 or even less, but non-U.S. or Canadian passport holders with checked baggage might use 3:00 as a better guideline.

If I am making an international to international connection, what is the process?
There is no international transit process in nearly all airports in the USA (MIA has a baggage exception for international to international). Arriving internationally, unless you have been pre-cleared, you must proceed through U. S. immigration (there are kiosks and a fast channel for Global Entry approved passengers), recover your baggage from the baggage carousel and proceed through U. S. Customs. There is a "green line" shortcut for passengers traveling only with carry-on baggage (no checked luggage) which is called "1 Stop" and there are Global Entry kiosks and there have fairly recently been dedicated Global Entry customs lines added, which ORD lacked for a very long time. Global Entry kiosks are located both in the central part of the main immigration hall area, as well as in the hall next to the 1-Stop exit.

Upon exiting Customs there is a bag drop facility; drop your checked baggage, exit to the landside arrivals area. Proceed to the the AA terminal on the ATS train, to counters or kiosks to get boarding passes for your ongoing travel, then proceed through TSA security to airside.



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AA Guide: ORD / Chicago O'Hare International Airport - MCT, Connection, etc.

Old Jun 7, 2017, 1:02 pm
  #616  
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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Originally Posted by Nyurka
I am considering a ticket which has a 49 minute connection in ORD from AA domestic to RJ international. Arriving 8;41 pm and departing 9;30 pm on a Tuesday night. I understand that Oneworld no longer protects connections/luggage on separate tickets, so this is out of the question. Is it doable in the same ticket, in business class? Passenger has Global Entry/TSA precheck but I don't think this helps with international departure on RJ.

How long would it take to exit terminal 3 AA gates, take ATS train to terminal 5 and get through security without having to pick up luggage. There is an alternate flight earlier, if 49 minutes is too short what is a decent connection time to consider - is 1 hr 45 minutes good?

Thanks!
There would be no way of getting a 49 minute AA-RJ connection on a single ticket as it is well below the MCT. And no you shouldn't risk it on separate tickets, even if you aren't checking bags.

For the 1hr 45 minute connection, yes it should be fine on a single ticket as yes, AA should check luggage through. But if you are on separate tickets and need to check bags, I still wouldn't risk it as bags won't be checked through by AA and you would only be leaving yourself 45 minutes to get off the plane, collect bags (can be quite slow), and make your way to T5 and recheck in with RJ before the 60 min baggage cutoff.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 1:09 pm
  #617  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
Originally Posted by KBMIFlyer
49 minutes is not really a reasonable connection, it is possible you could make it but it would be really really tight. 1:45 is probably ok as long as are not required to check in and drop bags in Chicago with RJ and your first flight is on time..

RJ only has 1 flight a day (do they even fly to ORD everyday?), so I wouldn't want to chance missing the flight. I would probably want at least a two hour connection.
It turns out AA will not budge on finding award availability to complete the award res. So this will be a paid ticket to catch that flight from ORD, and an unprotected connection (used to be interlined and protected by OneWorld alliance but no longer). This also means having to collect bag and do bag drop. Can I still do it in 1hr 45 mins? If not what is the suggested layover (i know about separate tickets/consequences, but don't want a long layover just for that, just something reasonable.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 1:14 pm
  #618  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
Originally Posted by wrp96
There would be no way of getting a 49 minute AA-RJ connection on a single ticket as it is well below the MCT. And no you shouldn't risk it on separate tickets, even if you aren't checking bags.

For the 1hr 45 minute connection, yes it should be fine on a single ticket as yes, AA should check luggage through. But if you are on separate tickets and need to check bags, I still wouldn't risk it as bags won't be checked through by AA and you would only be leaving yourself 45 minutes to get off the plane, collect bags (can be quite slow), and make your way to T5 and recheck in with RJ before the 60 min baggage cutoff.
Good point about cutoff for bag check in, thank you. It doesn't look reasonable on separate tickets. Then next option is a connection of about 4 hrs. I will HUTA with AA to see if they can find me that seat to be on the same ticket.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 1:52 pm
  #619  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
what is the official MCT in ORD from Domestic to International (AA to RJ)? AA can put everything on the same ticket (paid and award together on the same res) but says MCT is 2 hrs and 1 hr 45 min is too short, cannot ticket like this even though it looks doable on the same ticket. Where is that info published?

Thanks
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 8:39 pm
  #620  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Originally Posted by MADPhil
Inbound will be tight but OK if the AA flight is on time. The bus only runs every 30 minutes and the last one may be a bit early for you to catch. I think that at present it is at 19:30(G)/40(K). The connection will be tight going land side but still possible.

You should get AA lounge access outbound and AA/BA access inbound, if you have any spare time.
Provided you're checked in all the way through, I don't even think that 1hr+ is that bad even if you have to go landside at that time of day.

oneworld policy says that lounge access is based off the longhaul, so you'd get your choice of lounges at T3 (G, H/K, or L) on the outbound. On the return, the TPA club is actually pretty nice. Given the necessity of getting to T5, I'd probably get over there ASAP and enjoy whatever remaining time you have in the BA lounge there.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 8:43 pm
  #621  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Originally Posted by Nyurka
what is the official MCT in ORD from Domestic to International (AA to RJ)? AA can put everything on the same ticket (paid and award together on the same res) but says MCT is 2 hrs and 1 hr 45 min is too short, cannot ticket like this even though it looks doable on the same ticket. Where is that info published?

Thanks
It's not published, but 2 hours is correct.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 9:40 pm
  #622  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: ORD, DEL
Programs: AA (Plt Pro; 1.5 MM)
Posts: 6,183
Originally Posted by Lady Jag
Flying SAN-ORD flt #1565 , ORD-DUB Flt. #208 - into ORD domestic, leaving on international flight: It appears both flights are in/out of Terminal 3. Is 90 mins. enough time on a Tuesday evening?
Yes.
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Old Jun 7, 2017, 10:50 pm
  #623  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
Originally Posted by linglingfool
It's not published, but 2 hours is correct.
Must have to do with RJ, otherwise why does it need to be that long.....sigh. back to the drawing board for my trip, a longer connection makes an already long trip even longer and less attractive.
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Old Jun 8, 2017, 2:53 am
  #624  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
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Originally Posted by MADPhil
Inbound will be tight but OK if the AA flight is on time. The bus only runs every 30 minutes and the last one may be a bit early for you to catch. I think that at present it is at 19:30(G)/40(K). The connection will be tight going land side but still possible.

You should get AA lounge access outbound and AA/BA access inbound, if you have any spare time.
Thanks - hopefully the inbound will land on time and we'll make it. At least we're on a single ticket/protected connection so we'll be re-accommodated if we miss the BA flight.

There's the 10pm AA46, and if all else fails the next morning's daylight service back to LHR.
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Old Jun 8, 2017, 3:47 am
  #625  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,115
Originally Posted by Nyurka
what is the official MCT in ORD from Domestic to International (AA to RJ)? AA can put everything on the same ticket (paid and award together on the same res) but says MCT is 2 hrs and 1 hr 45 min is too short, cannot ticket like this even though it looks doable on the same ticket. Where is that info published?

Thanks
It looks like all Domestic-International and International-International connections for RJ at ORD have a 120 minute MCT. I get the same line highlighted below regardless of the airline code I use to generate the MCT information (not just AA).

[KVS Tool 8.4.7 - Reference: Minimum Connection Time [MCT]: ORD/AA-RJ]
Code:
DD DI ID II
STANDARD: ORD 050 075 090 090

EXCEPTIONS:
A/L FLT-NBR EQP TR DEPARR AREA EFF / DISC

AA 0001-9099 CU --- --- --- SUP
RJ

AA --- --- --- 120
RJ

-ALL- --- 120 --- 120
RJ 

AA W --- --- 135 ---
-ALL- 2

AA W --- --- 085 ---
-ALL- 3

AA --- --- 135 ---
-ALL- 2

AA --- --- 080 ---
-ALL- 3

AA 0001-9099 CU --- --- --- SUP
-ALL-

AA 6100-9099 14APR16 SUP SUP --- ---
-ALL-


AA 7181-7210 --- --- 120 120
-ALL-

AA AUA 060 --- --- ---
-ALL-

AA BDA 060 --- --- ---
-ALL-

---------------------------------------------------------------

[DD] Domestic To Domestic [DEP] Departure Airport
[DI] Domestic To Intl [ARR] Arrival Airport
[ID] Intl To Domestic [A/L] Airline
[II] Intl To Intl [TR] Terminal
[EQP W] Wide-Body Aircraft [EFF] Effective Date
[EQP N] Narrow-Body Aircraft [SUP] Suppressed/Prohibited
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Old Jun 13, 2017, 10:35 am
  #626  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Hi ORD experts,

How much time do I need for a connection from an inbound AA flight coming into T3, and an outbound BA flight leaving T5? I have to collect checked bags from the AA flight and then check them into the BA flight because the reservations are under different PNR's. Thanks!
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Old Jun 13, 2017, 1:44 pm
  #627  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: ORD, DEL
Programs: AA (Plt Pro; 1.5 MM)
Posts: 6,183
Originally Posted by matinicus rock
Hi ORD experts,

How much time do I need for a connection from an inbound AA flight coming into T3, and an outbound BA flight leaving T5? I have to collect checked bags from the AA flight and then check them into the BA flight because the reservations are under different PNR's. Thanks!
I would like 2-3 hours for a comfortable connection (assuming, as always, that incoming is not delayed). Check with BA if they would protect the connection in case of irrops; if not; then allow more time.
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Old Jun 14, 2017, 9:57 pm
  #628  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Originally Posted by matinicus rock
Hi ORD experts,

How much time do I need for a connection from an inbound AA flight coming into T3, and an outbound BA flight leaving T5? I have to collect checked bags from the AA flight and then check them into the BA flight because the reservations are under different PNR's. Thanks!
Realistically, assuming the bags are on the carousel when you get to baggage claim, getting them to T5 and checking in can be done in under an hour, but AA are not especially speedy about getting bags out at ORD. Security can vary; I would budget a half hour to be safe.
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Old Jun 19, 2017, 12:34 pm
  #629  
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Just a heads up, effective today there is now an airside bus from T3 to T5 for all airlines departing from T5 http://www.flychicago.com/business/m...px?newsid=1386
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Old Jun 20, 2017, 8:31 am
  #630  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Thanks for the update.

"...8:30AM until 8PM, so that doesnt quite cover all departures, though does cover most. Furthermore, its only supposed to operate in spring, summer, and fall, but not in the slower winter months..."

Link
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