linglingfool

Having just flown both JL F ORD-NRT and then AA on the way home, take aktchi's advice and make sure you don't miss the JL flight. What airport are you originating at?

Lucanesque

I'm flying in to ORD from LHR on BA0295, arriving T5 at 13:45 on a Saturday, travelling with hand luggage only. I'll be connecting to AA4278 to CMH, departing T3 at 15:25. I'll have already checked in to my AA flight before I leave the UK, and will have a mobile boarding pass.

It's been over a decade since I last flew in to ORD, and I know things have changed quite a bit with 1-Stop and APC so I've a few questions:

1) I'll be travelling First and have taken the seat closest to the door so should be first off. Is there a priority immigration lane (like there is at LHR for foreign visitors)?
2) From what I've read, 1-Stop is for anyone who is travelling with just hand luggage, but I don't get the relationship with APC? APC sounds like it is an electronic version of the CBP declaration form I fill out on the plane?
3) Is 1-Stop with the CBP declaration form OK, or do I need to go to an APC kiosk first?
4) Is there a quicker route through immigration and customs?

Sorry for the questions, I'm just confused about the relationship between 1-Stop and APC and which is going to be the quickest route from the plane in T5 to my gate in T3!

knoebelsPT

Sorry, no priority lanes at ORD.

Yes, APC is just an electronic version of the form you'd fill out on her plane. You'll actually see the entrance to the 1-stop line before you even get to the main immigration hall where he APC kiosks are. So no need to look for a kiosk, just follow the signs to 1-stop and go in with your paper deceleration.

There are sometimes staff members with signs directing people with hand luggage to the 1-stop area during busy times.

That's should be be your fastest route out. Then you can grab the train to Termianl 3 and if you are flying AA first to CMH you'll have acres to priority screening there.

Lucanesque

Excellent - thanks knoebelsPT

cascade

AUS. I went ahead and took the advice, switched my from from AUS-ORD to the day before. It'll give me a chance to spend the night and Chicago and head downtown for dinner and sights, not having to worry about missing my JL flight the next day.

mithun.atri

Hi,

I am flying in from London to ORD on 18th August. The flight lands at 21:00 at ORD and the connecting flight to Buffalo, NY departs at 22:59 which gives me about 2 hours.

Approximately how long will the immigration at ORD take? I have a student visa.

Is it better to reschedule my connecting flight to Buffalo or will I be able to make it in time?

Thanks!

ords

Hi,

Are you sure it's not 20:00 and not 21:00 on AA091? That's the last LHR flight to arrive at T5.

In either event, as long as the weather is fine, you'll be ok with the connection.

mithun.atri

Oops. Yeah I meant, flying in from LHR at 20:00 and departing ORD at 21:59.

I can still make the connection?

mtkeller

Flying NRT-ORD on JL 10 in F the day after Thanksgiving with my mom. (She's mid-60's and quite mobile.) We couldn't find anything suitable on AA to get from ORD to anywhere in North Dakota, so I figured we'd just buy something on a separate ticket. DL has the most flight options, but they've apparently just scaled back ORD-MSP flights that day. Right now, the best option is a DL flight to MSP leaving ORD at 1050. We're scheduled in at 0755. MCT for international to domestic JL-DL at ORD is 3:30, so we're under. It just seems like that's an absurdly long MCT and that 2:55 should be doable if we don't try to through-check a bag. My flight to DCA isn't until ~1150, so I would get her to her DL gate and then go wait for my flight, eliminating the airport navigation concerns. (Both US passport holders. I have GE, and I think she'll be adept enough to use the kiosks if they're up.)

Advice on if this seems advisable to book or if we should look at other options? (Somehow I also have to factor in the probability of further DL schedule changes, too, but I wanted to hear what the board thought about realistic international to domestic connection times at ORD on separate tickets first, particularly for the day after Thanksgiving.)

linglingfool

I see that AA operates ORD-BIS at 10:45, any reason for not choosing that? With your inbound in F, you'd have access to the Flagship Lounge while waiting for your connection, and with AA's separate ticket policy, you'd be protected in the case of an extended delay on arrival.

You shouldn't have any issues with immigration lines at that time of the morning, as the busy period tends to be between noon and 3, but weather is a concern that time of year. That being said, 3 hours is plenty -- JL/AA will sell you a connection with an MCT that's half that amount of time.

mtkeller

Yeah, I've looked at that as an option, too. The main issues are that it's $540 vs. $420 (for a r/t with the outbound to NYC a week earlier) and that outbound involves a 4h20m layover at ORD. (There's also the matter that mom just got a $600 DL voucher we'd like to use, so in some sense, it's $540 vs. $0.)

It seems really crazy that the JL-DL MCT is so large when the standard I/D offline MCT at ORD is 1:30. In looking at the expanded MCT table, it seems like DL may have purposefully rigged things so that all of its non-partners that fly to ORD have very high MCTs. (I'm seeing most foreign carriers other than SkyTeam members and VS having 3:30, and CX has a 6-hour MCT to DL at ORD!)

Given that most legal connection times are more like 90 minutes and we're well over that, I'm inclined to take the chance. I figure we're still five months out, so I can watch schedules and fares a while before pulling the trigger. Would happily hear further pro/con ideas from others though.

legalalien

I also think you should be fine even if you have checked bags. Mornings are typically light, and day after Thanksgiving (I assume you mean Friday) isn't a busy travel day. If your mom can get TSA Pre, you should be able to make it to the domestic DL gates in under 30 min after exiting customs.

One thing to consider is requesting a wheelchair for your mom. While she doesn't seem to need it (and quite possible would hate the idea; my mom certainly does), it could be a bit of a hike through and between terminals, and wheelchair passengers do get priority through immigration and security lines.

mtkeller

Yes, I do mean the Friday. I figured that would be a lighter day with better fares for the domestic parts of the journey, and I get the full week off from work so we're going the Saturday before.

I'll also keep the wheelchair idea in mind. Looks like our only competition at customs that morning will be NH12 from NRT, scheduled in 20 minutes before JL10. (The EY flight from AUH should be using preclearance, unless that disastrous experiment is ended before November, and the TK flight from IST seems to be re-timed to an afternoon arrival come fall.) Mom would definitely cringe at the idea, but I may have walked her feet of in Tokyo over the four preceding days, so she may be OK with the idea.

FlyingCow

I have a quick question, but not specifically about connections. Is 1-stop available for anyone with carry-on only, irrespective of nationality? I have not been able to find a clear answer for this so far...

linglingfool

Yes.