BA at ORD
 

Anyone know if BA are changing terminals at ORD? I have a flight booked next year and it doesn’t specify the terminal, just comes up with ‘- -‘. If they are moving then that would be great as the lounge in T5 is pretty mediocre.

doubt it - and if they did move it would presumably be to join AA, which is (I think) a miserable, crowded terminal - even the Flagship Lounge at ORD is a bit "meh" (not on par with the JFK and MIA ones, I don't think) - always horribly crowded whenever I am there

more likely, ORD is on the list for lounge renovation, as has happened in JFK, BOS, JNB etc. over recent years - agree that both the Club and First lounges in ORD could use a re-fresh

I’ve always found the flagship Lounge really nice. Maybe it’s the contrast to the rest of T3. Maybe it’s gone downhill but it’s a nice enough space with reasonable quality champagne and food selection as well as great showers. Agree it can be very busy at times though.

OK - the rest of that terminal is utterly miserable, Flagship is "OK" (good by US standards) just always so busy - I think the JFK/LAX/MIA (MIA especially) ones are a little nicer and feel less crowded (the layout doesn't help at ORD) - I've just never really wanted to spend more time than necessary in ORD Flagship, whereas I find the others nice enough places to spend an hour or two

I have a booking in August 2020 which is showing T5 at ORD. As rare as they are, probably an IT glitch!

BA will continue operating out of the unremarkable, tedious ORD Terminal 5 until about 2026, when the yet-unbuilt new Global Terminal opens.

Yes, that was what I was told when I sent some feedback about the ORD experience...

I have to confess I was utterly underwhelmed by the experience at ORD start-to-finish, but what really annoyed me was the indecent haste we were bundled out of the First lounge because the flight was allegedly boarding. Got to the gate and it was nowhere near boarding. Decided to head back to the lounge and found it locked - went into the Club lounge and queried the decision to send us to the gate with the lounge manager. Was treated to a diatribe about why they were closing the lounges irrespective of whether the flight was boarding or not. Seriously unimpressed!

Anyhow, I did get a response from BA that felt like it had been drafted from scratch rather than a copy-and-paste and promising local follow-up...

The ORD experience in that respect was better / is better when it’s a 747/777 rather than a A380 and they can board direct from the First lounge - with the A380 they do seem to sometimes kick out before boarding is actually underway (let alone if you would rather board last rather than first)

Yes, we were on the A380 so sounds like it wasn't an isolated incident. Didn't realise the 747/777 had direct boarding from the First lounge! Once on-board, things took a definite turn for the better... I love the amount of space that the A380 F seat has.

Yep, unless things have changed (and assuming it's the correct gate) the First lounge at ORD has a direct gate to the aircraft - very nice

Same in SFO - where even after the lounge renovation the A380 still cannot board from the lounge, but the 747 services can

Thanks all. Sounds like an IT glitch then.

As a Chicago resident, I have to say I think the pre-flight dining for First at ORD is very good - I have no complaints!

That's due to the lack of space between the even A gates (A4 and A6 in particular - those connected directly to the lounge) and the "A" parking structure. The 747 and 777 services usually board from the lounge; 380 services usually board from either A9 or (more recently IME) A5.

rb211.

i have no complaints about the food or service, it just feels as though you’re dining in someone’s office. The ORD lounges, both of them, are chronically short of space

And those are the "old" gate numbers... SFO switched to new numbers last month.

rb211.