legalalien

I'm not sure AA provides Flagship Lounge access on arrival; I don't think so, but you might want to confirm. If they do, AA FL is hands down the best option. If not, your choices are Admiral's Clubs in T3 or United Club in T2. They have all been recently renovated, and are reasonably nice for domestic clubs. AC uses low E gates, so it's a very quick, under-10-minutes walk from T3 clubs.

Using PP lounges in T5 is possible: there is now a bus transfer from T5 to the domestic terminals, and a checkpoint that allows entry with domestic tickets, but AFAIK it requires an Express Pass from the airline. More importantly, though, PP lounges in T5 are not worth going out of the way to visit. Some would argue that they are not worth visiting, period.

You do. Barely. Probably not enough time for anything else, but you will get to see The Bean. I would budget an hour+ each way on Blue Line, plus an hour+ to get/store/retrieve your luggage.

I'm not aware of any official place to store bags, but folks have been known to talk porters at the O'Hare Hilton into storing their luggage.

TWA884

There are numerous reports in the Guide to Flagship Lounge Access (expanded 2017) thread that there is access on arrival to the Flagship Lounges.

JBord

I think "barely" is correct. I assume the poster is probably Canadian, maybe Japanese. Since I'm American with Global Entry, I can only speak from my observations coming back home to ORD, but even the lines for US citizens without GE can take an hour at times. Probably the same or longer for non-citizens, so factor that in. With luck, maybe it's only 20 minutes but I doubt that's normal.

In that situation, I'd probably just opt to stay at the airport, but I would agree that there's probably about an hour or so the poster could spend downtown...if the blue line doesn't stop 8 times for no reason along the way, and then make everyone exit and switch trains at Jefferson Park or another random station .

legalalien

AA Flagship Lounge it is, then. IMHO, beats trying to bribe Hilton porters and doing a mileage run on the El, too. And I absolutely love my adoptive home.

legalalien

OP mentioned that they have GE and TSA Pre. I wouldn't count on being able to go downtown without both.

cheltzel

+1 on this. The OP is arriving on JL and departing on AC. I am assuming the OP has luggage as stashing their bags somewhere to go into the city is a requirement. I believe AC will not accept luggage until 4 hours before flight departure. So I would take my time getting out of T5 and take the landslide bus to T2 (unless the ATS is running when they arrive) and check my luggage with AC. Clear security and go the the Flagship Lounge in T3. At that point they will be something like 3.5 to 4 hours before their flight on AC departs. Enough time to enjoy the lounge and have a leisurely stroll to the departure gate in T2.

etgohomeok

Thank you to everyone who's responded!

To clarify, I am a Canadian citizen with GE and TSA Pre. Ideally looking to be traveling with only carry-on so I don't expect to have to wait at a luggage carousel on arrival.

Based on your great feedback, I think I'll play it by ear on the day of. While it would seem like a shame to stay in the airport for the full 5+ hours, I would love to see the inside of an AA flagship lounge as this may be my only chance in a long time (usually fly *A) so if I can get in with my JL ticket then that's pretty tempting. If I'm feeling adventurous and/or can't get in with the JL ticket then I might try to snap a selfie with the bean instead . Worst-case scenario I can cart my suitcase and backpack onto the train with me if there are no convenient options for checking it early or storing it. Given that it's still about 8 months out I'm sure any number of changes with the flight schedules and/or airport infrastructure could throw my plans out the window anyways .

Thanks again!

rvandeut

We need to fly into Chicago O’Hare to pick something up. We’re using American Airlines. The flight arrives at 8:45am and our return flight departs at 6:30pm. It’s all domestic and we won’t have any luggage on arrival since it’s only a day run. However, we will have checked baggage for the return flight after we pick up what we’re going there for. What do we have time to do while we are waiting? Is it easy to head into the city to just walk around, see the sights and eat some Chicago goodies? It’ll be a Saturday.

TWA884

It's about a 40-45 minutes ride on the CTA Blue Line from ORD to the Loop.

Snuggs

There is plenty of signage on lower level (baggage) of T-3 leading you to CTA trains. This thread already covers most of the typical layover ideas. The only thing that I might add, if not already here, is that you also have time for a play. Chicago has many large and local theater and comedy companies

Chicago Architectural tours are great, and you can usually find a guide for a few hours through the usual websites.

ChateauMargaux

Flying NH biz to ORD and then connecting UA economy domestic - can I use any lounges at ORD?

GUWonder

The UA lounges are accessible to you, but you'll need to present your NH business class boarding pass along with your UA domestic economy class boarding pass.

ChateauMargaux

Thanks! I thought I could only do that if I am flying UA economy then NH biz. Can I use the Polaris lounge or just regular UA Club?

GUWonder

Sorry, but it appears that I was wrong about this. Here's what UA says:

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...es/access.html

And here's what Star Alliance says:

ChateauMargaux

Thanks! Do I need to re-check my bag? I have a 6.5 hour layover