nacho

Thank you so much!

I guess we won't make it as we are sitting at the very back of a 777-200.

We are EU passport holders, so we will have to do the usual kiosk taking pictures and and fingerprint and then fingerprints again at the actual immigration counter at ORD. We'll be taking the 11:40am flight leaving MUC and arrives at ORD at around 14:15. As far as I can see there are 2 flights after the one we supposed to take leaving ORD at 15:55.

The kids are 11-14 years old, so we will have to take 1 or 2 kids each if we have to split.

I don't understand the logic behind the 90 minutes MCT at ORD.

Called UA - they will not change our flights without charge, what the agent said was that I can call 30 minutes before the ORD-LAX flight depart so that they can put us on standby for the next flight to LAX.

I'll see if I can do a SDC this Saturday.

threeoh

There are 6 things slowing you down, and none of those things are taken into account when calculating MCT.

A solo adult traveler in J with with U.S. citizenship plus Global Entry (speed through immigration/customs), no checked bags, and TSA Precheck (speed through security) I think a 100-minute connection would be fine at ORD T5->T1 in most circumstances. You could probably make it even with a 30 minute delay on the first flight.

Keep in mind that since you are flying ex-EU, if your first flight is delayed and you miss your connection overnight they should pay for your hotel (and, in some circumstances, pay you EUR 600 per passenger). This doesn't necessarily apply if the flight is on time and you miss your connection anyway, but you could try for it. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...united-50.html

But....I hope you make the connection or are accommodated in one group on one of the later flights that day!

nacho

Thanks!

I still don't get the logic of it - how many pax on a 777 is a solo adult flying J with US citizenship plus Global Entry?

Do you know where is the first UA counter we'll get to at ORD? I guess the agent at ORD will be more understanding about our situation.

I was trying to see if there's one in MUC but I don't think so - last time I flew UA everything was handled by LH. We have 4 hours at MUC so we should have plenty of time to try to call UA.

threeoh

I don't have numbers but as a random guess, 40% of people arriving on a MUC-ORD flight have at least 4 of those 6 things? Anyway United is not saying you'll make the connection, they're saying they will sell you ticket and protect the connection (accommodate you for free if you miss it, possibly pay for hotel, etc.). They will do that for 90+ minutes but not for 89 minutes or less. Personally I like that airlines give you more options -- fast travelers (or those who are risk tolerant) can choose the tight connections, and you can choose not to if you have some things slowing you up. But it is a trade-off.

In T5, after getting your bags and clearing Customs, but before you get to to the public area, there is a United desk on your right-hand side. That is where you re-check your bags. There is staff there and they can help you out -- though if there is still a chance you can make your flight they may urge you to go to T1 and try for it.

Once in T1 you can use the regular check-in counter, or go through security and use the UA customer service desk by gates B8 or C18.

Actually if you are all non-UA *G you can use the United Club for free (the one by gate B6 is usually the closest/nicest)....there are agents in the Club who can help with your rebooking, and you can enjoy a mediocre snack while you wait Probably more convenient than waiting in line at the normal customer service desk.

They contract with LH staff but I think technically it is a United counter (they follow UA, not LH, policies). At least I think so?

under2100

Thanks for this information. I was also concerned about my 1:20 connection flying LHR-ORD-YVR (959/563) in early January, after hearing that the ATS will not be fixed by then. Like the previous poster, I also called United, but was told no waiver. The phone agent was quite strident about it, and gave me a stern lecture for several minutes saying she had not heard of anyone having any problems making connections and as I had chosen to purchase this ticket, I must have known it would be a tight connection unless I had no baggage and GE. But my question, which she never answered, was not whether I could change the flight without fee, but what would happen in the event that I missed the connection. The second flight is the last flight of the day, so I would have to overnight, and I wondered if they would put me in a hotel if the first flight was on-time but the delays through immigration/baggage re-check meant that I couldn't get to my second flight. I'm 1K on a paid ticket in Y, both flights UA on the same ticket. I would really prefer to check a bag and I'm Nexus. Thanks.

threeoh

I have no personal experience with this, I've never missed a UA connection with an on-time inbound.

My intuition is they would handle it like a weather delay -- so hotel for 1K/GS and no hotel for others. But I don't know.

nacho

An update:

Called again this morning at around 8:45 CET, realizing that I'm also UA silver so I gave a call to the premier desk. Finally got someone from the US who won't keep saying, "Mam, I know where you are coming from" BS.

She pulled my ressie and I told her about the ORD connection, and I asked her if she knows Chicago and she said yes, and I asked her again if she knows ORD she said yes. I then asked her whether anyone can make that connection.

She said, "well United thinks people can make it in 90 minutes", but if I want to change the flight she can help. I immediately asked if there's any charge and she said since it's not an unreasonable request she will wave the charge.

So we have 3 hours at ORD

Thanks once again for all your help!

nacho

1:20 is 80 minutes so it's 10 minutes below the MCT (MCT for ORD Intl to domestic is 90 minutes if it's UA-UA), if it's 016 ticket they might be able to book you on AC directly from LHR to YVR.

under2100

Unfortunately, I read on here that the minimum connection time is 75 minutes. I think that's what the agent on the phone said as well. I guess they're not changing from that even though the ATS is down.

onthesam

Immigration lines and security lines have more to do with the potential for delays. The shuttle is adding at most 5-10 minutes to the journey these days.

findark

Standard I/D seems to be 1h20 these days, overridden for a number of cases to 1h30 but no UA metal from Europe.

It's definitely possible to make -- my last ORD connection was something like 2h10 and I had a solid hour on the B6 UC before boarding started. MCT isn't about "what connection will every pax make every time" but about what is plausible to attempt. I find it to be set somewhere around a 65% probability of making the connection for the average pax.

nacho

They told me MCT was 90 minutes i to d - I'd try to call again if I were you - perhaps wait until it gets closer. You never know what the weather will be like in ORD in January or there's a schedule change from UA.

Flying Machine

Thanks for the replies about the time to go from T5 to T1. Once I exit the customs hall and give my white slip to the GE/Customs Officer upon exit. How do I walk to the bus stop that circulates to go to T1? Is the signage fairly clear?

Thanks in advance

TomMM

Follow the signs...

threeoh

Unless it's changed it's lower level, door 5E.

But follow the signs!