washingtonian From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3600 times:
Are all or most of the terminals at O'Hare connected airside via a walkway or shuttle bus? I've never actually flown through O'Hare, and I have an opportunity to take a connecting flight through there with several hours to kill (I don't know if this is a wise airport to connect through in December though!). As somebody who loves airports, would the exploring opportunities be worth it? I'd be flying United by the way.
scorpy From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 398 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3574 times:
Quoting washingtonian (Thread starter): Are all or most of the terminals at O'Hare connected airside via a walkway or shuttle bus? I've never actually flown through O'Hare, and I have an opportunity to take a connecting flight through there with several hours to kill (I don't know if this is a wise airport to connect through in December though!). As somebody who loves airports, would the exploring opportunities be worth it? I'd be flying United by the way.
Yes. Flying UA, you have access to UA's T1, T2 and AA's T3. T1 is kind of cool, T2 is a dump, T3 is decent.
RoseFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 8737 posts, RR: 52 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3568 times:
Lots of exploring can be done. All the domestic terminals are connected. While terminal 2 gate area is pretty bad, they have a museum exhibit that you pass by when going from T2 to T1 and it can be interesting.
If you have never designed an airplane part before, let the real designers do the work!
bohica From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2407 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3561 times:
Quoting washingtonian (Thread starter): Are all or most of the terminals at O'Hare connected airside via a walkway or shuttle bus?
All the domestic terminals are connected beyond security via walkways. The international terminal is separate and you would have to exit the secured area and take a people mover to get there.
Quoting washingtonian (Thread starter): I don't know if this is a wise airport to connect through in December though
RoseFlyer From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 8737 posts, RR: 52 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3507 times:
How many hours do you think it would take to explore all of the domestic terminals?
The walk from the C gates (UA's largest terminal) all the way to the AA gates and back takes about an hour. If you want to do further exploring and try some spotting, you might want longer.
If you have never designed an airplane part before, let the real designers do the work!
RamblinMan From United States of America, joined Oct 2010, 1080 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 3457 times:
Go for it. The snow removal system is pretty impressive and there usually aren't problems except during storms. All the terminals are connected post-security except for 5. That kind of sucks because that's where you see a lot of international carriers... but I think you can see it from parts of T3. There is no kind of tram, and hardly any moving sidewalks airside, so bring walking shoes.
If either leg of your itinerary is on UA Express, you may use T2, but UA is primarily at T1. Spend as little time at T2 as possible- it is a serious dump.
I wouldn't purposefully spend more than a couple hours though. It's not really a spotters' paradise unless you have a weird thing for lots and lots of CRJs and ERJs. People-watching can be really interesting.
apodino From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 3634 posts, RR: 6 Reply 7, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 3232 times:
one thing to note, there is a shuttle bus that runs from Gate C9 in terminal 1 to E2 in terminal 2. But if you have time, the walkway between B and C in Terminal 1 is kind of neat. If you have ever been to DTW, its very similar to the one that is between A and B/C in the McNamarra Terminal.
Otherwise, I agree, 1 is not bad at all, 2 is a dump, and 3 is a decent, but not great facility.
washingtonian From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 3213 times:
Thanks for the advice everyone! I have 4 1/2 hours. I hope to see some of the United departures to Asia.
Two related questions. If I buy a day-pass to the Red Carpet Club, can I use it in all the different ones that United has there? If so, what is the best one?
Also, any good restaurant suggestions for lunch at ORD?
zrs70 From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 2872 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (2 years 7 months 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 3193 times:
Quoting washingtonian (Reply 8): If I buy a day-pass to the Red Carpet Club, can I use it in all the different ones that United has there? If so, what is the best one?
I believe the RCC passes are one time passes (as opposed to one day passes). You might consider getting a DL pass instead. I think the food is better in their club.
RamblinMan From United States of America, joined Oct 2010, 1080 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 3136 times:
Quoting apodino (Reply 7): one thing to note, there is a shuttle bus that runs from Gate C9 in terminal 1 to E2 in terminal 2
Seriously? To think I've lived here over 5 years and I've never noticed that!
RamblinMan From United States of America, joined Oct 2010, 1080 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (2 years 7 months 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 3088 times:
Quoting washingtonian (Reply 11): Is ORD a bad airport to connect from international to domestic flights? This would make it seem so.
Well, it's not the best, but this has nothing to do with it. You always have to re-clear security for a domestic connection after exiting the arrivals hall. The tram works just fine. Domestic to international is quite easy if staying on AA or UA, as aircraft are towed to T1 or T3 for their international departures. The real pain is if you, for example, fly into ORD on AA and connect to BA. You have to exit security, claim bags, take the train to T5, and check in again. Some international Star carriers like Lufthansa and ANA depart from T1 to facilitate connections from UA, but most foreign carriers will depart from 5.
Back before I moved to Chicago and had any familiarity with ORD, my parents and I were re-booked on EI from US Airways. The dumbass US agent assured us that we did not need to claim our bags, just go straight to the EI counter and get our boarding passes. We showed up, and the poor girl gave us an incredulous look and asked us why on earth we had left our luggage at T2. We only made that flight because someone was gracious enough to re-open checkin after we had found the luggage.
washingtonian From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 13, posted (2 years 6 months 3 weeks 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 2942 times:
Anybody have good ORD restaurant suggestions?
Quoting RamblinMan (Reply 12): You always have to re-clear security for a domestic connection after exiting the arrivals hall. The tram works just fine
How long is it from when you exit the arrivals hall until you arrive at the domestic terminals security checkpoints?
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