cmd320

Yes, the domestic terminals are connected inside of security. It can be a bit of a walk depending on the exact gates, but easily doable.

contecsa

Tyou have a good one!

milepig

The walk between the heads of the terminals is probably 5-10 minutes if you are a reasonable walker. The variable is your gate - if you come into a far out gate on AA and then need to get to gate C9999 (only a slight exaggeration) on UA you should add at least 10 minutes on either end.

gobluetwo

AA is located in Terminal 3. US is in Terminal 2. UA is located in Terminals 1 and 2. It can be a long way from T3 concourse K to T1 concourse C. Budget a good 15-20 minutes for the walk. From T3 to T2, could be as short as 5 minutes if going from concourse G to concourse F.

flyingrox

Hi folks - I am looking at flights into Chicago in a couple weeks. Getting is in not the concern. However, when my meetings are done at 5:00 PM on a Friday (on Michigan Avenue downtown), I am trying to figure out the most reasonable flight time to take. As a Delta flyer, I prefer to take Delta back to MSP. However, the big issue is that Delta's last flight leaves O'Hare at 7:21 PM. How unreasonable is it hop on the Blue Line at 5:15 or so downtown, get to O'Hare, go through security, and make this flight? I assume the interstate (taxi) would be out as an option at rush hour time.
Of course, my alternative is later flights on United or American... but hey, I'm tied to Skymiles. Any thoughts?

A follow-up question: If 7:21 is unreasonable, what is the earliest reasonable departure time I should look at? I'd prefer to spend as little of my Friday as possible sitting at O'Hare waiting.

JimInOhio

I doubt you'd have any problem making the 7:21 PM flight. Blue Line from downtown to O'Hare is 45 minutes and then it's only another 5 minute walk or so to T2.

flyingrox

Thanks! Should I have any concern about getting a spot on blue line at rush hour?

linglingfool

As long as you're not hauling a bunch of huge suitcases, you'll get on just fine (although you may have to stand for part of the way). Friday afternoon rush in the summer should be on the lighter side as people take off of work early or stick around for a happy hour, and trains run every 4-5 minutes.

aktchi

Your timing is perfectly do-able but you'll have to be well-prepared in advance as you won't have the time to figure things out at the last minutes or recover from mistakes.

(1) Figure out the nearest Blue Line station from your meeting place. We can help if you give us the meeting location. "Michigan Avenue downtown" is a bit vague for comfort and I would feel better knowing the intersection before I suggest walking to Blue Line and also which station. (Basically Michigan Avenue runs northwards, but Blue Line turns and goes northwest, so the distance between them keeps increasing.)

(2) Purchase a return ticket when you arrive. If you are not taking the train upon arrival, purchase the ticket from any CTA station (need not be Blue Line) in advance. That way, you will be able to fly past any long lines, broken machines, etc.

(3) make sure you board the train going to O'Hare and not the one coming from here.

(4) Finally, Chicago train system is operated with the laudable goal of keeping Americans in touch with their 19th century railroad roots. It will get you to O'Hare, and that's about it. You won't have a pre-assigned "spot", comfortable seats, or luggage hold. Depending on the crowd, you may get to sit or have to stand. Hold on to suitcases or they may roll around the coach. At the boarding platform, try to pre-position yourself near the from end of the train.

Good luck.

flyingrox

Sorry, I should be more specific. The meeting is a couple blocks from Clark/Lake specifically around Michigan and Randolph (Google Maps says 8-10 minute walk) which is the most reasonable Blue Line stop and I'll be able to become acclimated to its location when taking the Blue Line in and can purchase a return ticket when coming in.

So even in worse case scenario of getting to Clark/Lake at 5:30 PM, that gets me to O'Hare at around 6:15 PM unless I just miss a blue line train and have to wait a couple minutes. That's gives me about 50 minutes to get through security and to my gate because I assume Delta will close the doors a few minutes early.

aktchi

Great, you seem to be in good shape! On Randolph, walk west from Michigan to Clark. Lake is one bl north of Randolph. However, a big station like that has several entrances. Do a dry run once and decide which entrance will be most convenient for you. Especially if you will have enough luggage to make an escalator/elevator desirable.

I am not a DL person, but I think all of their ORD flights leave from Terminal 2 (very short walk from the train station). Still it is good practice to check on the gate and terminal. OLCI etc can also save a few minutes at the airport.

Last but not the least, do a flight status check: if nothing else, knowing about a 15 min delay beforehand will allow you to breathe a little easier.

MessyEater

But as you walk from Michigan to Clark, you'll pass right by the Blue Line station entrance at Randolph and Dearborn -- a much shorter walk.

There is an entrance to the Blue Line Washington station on Dearborn half a block south of Randolph. There's absolutely no reason to walk all the way to Clark and Lake. From Michigan just walk 3 blocks west to Dearborn and turn south on Dearborn and there will be stairs leading down to the subway on both sides of the street.
Streetview image of station entrance.

You can use Google Streetview to talk a virtual walk from your office to the train station.

aktchi

Good observation! This will save about 1 block of walk. Actually this nicely illustrates the choice one often faces-

The nearer station (Dearborn/Washington) is a small one, lacking in escalators/elevators at least from the street level. (Only Blue Line comes here, so no possibility of confusion on that front.)

The farther station (Clark/Lake) is a major hub with more staff, more facilities, and especially escalators and elevators.

Whether or not that is worth walking an extra block will depend on each person, his mood, and how much luggage he has.

I can imagine making both choices under different circumstances.

italdesign

How about international T5, can I reach it airside from any domestic T?

aktchi

No. While T1-T2-T3 are connected airside, T5 is isolated. You can't even walk there from other terminals; you must take the airport train, and go through security again.