Yep, that's going to be awfully close.

A majority of, but not all, United Express flights arrive at Terminal 2. You could try to get an idea of the terminal by checking historical flight arrival info for your inbound flight. (www.flightstats.com) While the gate won't be the same day to day, I don't think they will bounce flights back and forth between terminals.

SFO is generally a mainline flight, so your connection will likely depart from Terminal 1.

Getting between 1 and 2 isn't too hard. You can walk it airside, so there is no need to re-clear security. If your outbound flight is on the B concourse, you can walk from the T2 E/F gates. If it is from the C concourse, there is a shuttle from near E3 to the C concourse.

If they changed your flight recently, you might look into calling United and getting a later SFO flight. Since they moved your arrival and departure times around, they should let you move to a later flight without a change fee.

---Matt

mmayer's advice is spot on, but I'll disagree on one point. I wouldn't worry about it at all. There are a bazillion later flights in the day to SFO. Also, not all of them go into terminal 2 by any means. The low C gates are all express, as are the high B gates. Take a look a couple weeks in advance and you'll get a good idea of the area it comes into. Most flights tend to go into the same general area (pretty sure each express carrier has different gate ranges).

The ExPlus flights go in to B/C and the non ExPlus ones go into F. ORD-SFO flights can be VERY full so I wouldn't play roulette with a cruddy middle seat much later in the day if I could avoid it.

Transferring between AA and UA @ ORD
 

Has anyone experienced transferring between AA and UA at ORD? I believe that their use to be a way to do this while staying within security; is that still a possibility?

How much time do you think it would take to go from K12 to B17?

Time of day? Time of year? Pit stop at baggage claim? How fast do you walk?

Today, about 6PM... no baggage to pick up (all in hand)... I can run if need be... First class off of AA, so front of the cabin.

Yes, you can remain airside at O'Hare while going from the K gates in terminal 3 to the B gates in terminal 1. I would estimate that the walk will take about 15 minutes at a leisurely pace. Before going down the escalator to the baggage claim, turn left and follow the signs.

Unfortunately the terminal shuttle is outside security, but the walk is a reasonable one.

http://www.airportczar.com/public/im...cial_large.jpg

Add 5 extra minutes because gate B17 is one of the farthest gate in terminal 1. Hopefully they change it for a lower numbered B.

Real quick walk - 15 minutes will probably suffice!

Thanks, m60521. That map is perfect. And knowing it takes 15 minutes on a leisure walk means that sprinting will take about 5-10 :D

Stupid ATC holding up my AA flight is making my UA connection really tight. Unless the UA flight just isn't posting its delays yet (which could be possible).

My AA flight is scheduled to land at 5:25, but is currently on a 30 minute ground hold from the ATC, making the arrival time 5:55 PM.

The UA flight is departing at 6:25, but they also might get delayed...who knows?

Concourse F to Concourse C?
 

Great info! I took a look at the ExpressJet flights which do indeed almost always seem to arrive in Terminal 2 on Concourse F. I see how to get to Concourse B in Terminal 1 without leaving the secure area but what about Concourse C? You mentioned a shuttle but does that mean leaving the secure area and going through security again? I can't risk taking a much later flight to SFO since I still have another connection to make.

No you'll still be inside security on the bus. It's completely walkable as well - it's a solid 10 minute walk though. Councourse C is accessible via escalators to an underground passage about halfway down the length of Concourse B.

Good advice about the middle seat. Thx.

As long as it's a 10 minute walk and not a 10 minute sprint! Still recovering from a knee injury - walking is fine but running not so much.

I'm going to keep an eye on the flights for the next few days then make a decision about changing. Haven't had any experience with changing a United award ticket so I'll take the discussion over to the Mileage Plus thread.

Thanks again!
Pat

15 minutes? Leisurely? Really?
 

I know it's too late now, but did you guys really convince the OP that from the farthest reaches of Terminal 3 to the farthest end of Terminal 1, that he could walk leisurely and make it in 15 minutes? And he's getting into ORD at about 6pm - peak time for crowds?

I would have said a leisurely half hour!

Please continue to follow this thread in the FT Chicago Forum.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator