ORDinary Gold

My wife is on UA959 as LHR-ORD as we speak. It was scheduled to arrive at ORD at 6:18pm, but is now estimated at 5:08pm.

I'm trying to pick her up curbside. She's an American citizen with no checked luggage, sitting in the E+ section. How long after touchdown can I expect her to emerge from the terminal?

Thanks in advance for the help.

hsilbiger

I have done that in 30 to 45 minutes, but it depends on how many flights are arriving at the same time.

cawhite

Likewise. I think the longest I've had to wait was about an hour, US Thanksgiving weekend, on that same flight. As noted above, it depends on who else is landing around the same time and who manages to unload first, as well as whether they are working both Immig areas or just one

ElmhurstNick

I was on the curb waiting for my shuttle bus in less than 20 minutes from landing, but I didn't have checked luggage and I was in business class.

grbflyer

it shouldnt take that much time. i landed on wednesday cdg-ord. i had checked baggage and a couple other bags so it took me about 30min. we got in at 3:30pm. she should breeze right through. there are two passport controls, the us citizen line wastn that long, but security were letting people know there was another line.

mitch

tattikat2

Any idea why it is 1h10m's early?

I'm asking because I'll be meeting family arriving on that exact same flight later in the year. But being as I live in SF I'll be flying to ORD myself to meet them and if the plane was over an hour early.. will, there goes my "balloon drop " welcome out the window!

If it's concistently early I may need to arrive earlier than I'd thought.

suzy1K

Also, go onto UAL.com & find out what gate the plane will be given at Terminal 5 (M-gates).

Gates M-9/10/11 are super close to customs (mid-terminal) are you can be there in a flash, whereas the end Gates (M1, 2, 3 and 18, 19, 20) are seemingly miles away.

If she gets an end gate, add 10-15 minutes to your wait for her long walk.

suzy1K

I just checked and at the moment, UA959 is booked into 17A. A bit on the "far side". So perhaps you may want to bring a box of chocolates to revive her spirits after the long flight & walk

milepig

Time will vary greatly.

The walk from your gate will be about 10 minutes if you land at the far end of T5.

The wait for immigration will be 10-15 minutes (maybe more) if you are US citizen. Probably longer if not. Try to choose your line by the looks of the people in it, not by the length. Choose the line with lots of couples who were clearly on vacation, etc., and it will most likely move fast. A bunch of business people is also good. I'm usually flying business, and I tend to arrive at immigration with mostly seasoned travellers so the line tends to move quickly at that point.

The wait for baggage can take forever. One reason I don't check bags for INTL travel.

The line for customs always moves very quickly. Even when we were sent for secondary instpection (cat food, don't ask) it was no more than 5 extra minutes.

When you're through customs you're out the doors and done.

Best case:

plane door to immigration - 5 minutes
immigration - 10 minutes
baggage - 0
customs - 0
TOTAL 15 minutes

Worst case:

plane door to immigration - 10 minutes
immigration - 20 minutes (US) 30 minutes (non-US)
baggage - 30 minutes (the longer you stay in immigration the less time you'll wait for your bags, so these two things tend to even out in the end. I've always gotten through immigration before my bags were out, making the effective immigration wait zero)
customs - 5 minutes
TOTAL 65 minutes (US) 75 minutes (non-US)

I don't think the process has ever taken me more than 40 minutes with baggage. And, I have indeed done it in 15 or less.

If changing to a domestic flight, to this you will need to add the time rechecking bags - 10 minutes? (I've never done it). Walking to the little train - 10 minutes. Taking the train to T1 or T2 - 10 minutes (max waiting time for train midday 4-5 minutes, the trip 5 minutes).

You then need to get from the train to the gate - 5 to 20 minutes or more. Assuming you already have your BP (either from the original checkin or when you rechecked your bags) you will need to walk from the train to security - 5 minutes, wait for security - 5 minutes to 20 minutes, and walk to your gate - 5 minutes to 20 minutes depending on gate location.

merlin

Somewhat OT, but has anyone had luck in going to the other side of Immigration if the first one looks very busy? I came in from HKG a couple weeks ago, and the agent directing people at the bottom of the escalator wouldn't let me go to the other screening area even though it was open.

ORDinary Gold

I don't know. I can say that it was pushed up to 5:24 before the flight even took off, then an additional :15 after take off. I'll see what my wife knows when she arrives and post what I can learn tonight or tomorrow.

ORDinary Gold

Thanks very much. Sounds like if I pull up at 5:30 (that's 22 mins after arrival), it should be fine. And the kids already baked her cookies.

milepig

If you want to be a really nice guy, spring for the $3.00 and park in the little lot that's right outside T5, she will then see your smiling face (hopefully without chocolate chip pieces adhering to your lips) just as she emerges from customs.

INTL flight arrival times vary widely - the distance is long and winds can really make a difference. I'm frequently early on LHR-ORD flights.

roberto99

I've made it from the opening of the door to the curb at ORD in 9 minutes many times. But I'm one of the first few pax off of the plane and I generally run down the hall passing numerous pax from other flights. This is not for everyone.

My longest time (without checked bags) was probably ~30 minutes.

ORDinary Gold

I did this. No chocolate chip pieces - they are peanut butter cookies. (Well, they were).
And, FYI, only $2.00 for the first hour.