Chicago Aviation Thread - 2021

jplatts · Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:44 pm

Here were the number of passengers, number of seats, and load factors for WN flights out of MDW in May 2021:
ABQ-MDW - 9217 passengers, 10417 seats, 88.48% load factor
ALB-MDW - 7875 passengers, 8460 seats, 93.09% load factor
ATL-MDW - 40344 passengers, 45034 seats, 89.59% load factor
AUS-MDW - 25463 passengers, 30823 seats, 82.61% load factor
BDL-MDW - 8544 passengers, 9051 seats, 94.40% load factor
BHM-MDW - 8116 passengers, 9314 seats, 87.14% load factor
BNA-MDW - 32454 passengers, 41989 seats, 77.29% load factor
BOS-MDW - 19607 passengers, 20627 seats, 95.06% load factor
BUF-MDW - 8130 passengers, 9002 seats, 90.31% load factor
BWI-MDW - 37198 passengers, 46595 seats, 79.83% load factor
CHS-MDW - 14835 passengers, 20602 seats, 72.01% load factor
CLE-MDW - 18547 passengers, 20851 seats, 88.95% load factor
CLT-MDW - 1291 passengers, 1430 seats, 90.28% load factor
CMH-MDW - 16642 passengers, 19010 seats, 87.54% load factor
COS-MDW - 9832 passengers, 17589 seats, 55.90% load factor
CVG-MDW - 7608 passengers, 8866 seats, 85.81% load factor
DAL-MDW - 50280 passengers, 59015 seats, 85.20% load factor
DCA-MDW - 23956 passengers, 30555 seats, 78.40% load factor
DEN-MDW - 48787 passengers, 68949 seats, 70.76% load factor
DTW-MDW - 17941 passengers, 22247 seats, 80.64% load factor
ECP-MDW - 7383 passengers, 12244 seats, 60.30% load factor
FLL-MDW - 31398 passengers, 39148 seats, 80.20% load factor
GRR-MDW - 15596 passengers, 19298 seats, 80.82% load factor
HOU-MDW - 42842 passengers, 49462 seats, 86.62% load factor
IAD-MDW - 14237 passengers, 24894 seats, 57.19% load factor
IAH-MDW - 13683 passengers, 17875 seats, 76.55% load factor
JAX-MDW - 5509 passengers, 5882 seats, 93.66% load factor
LAS-MDW - 77217 passengers, 85394 seats, 90.42% load factor
LAX-MDW - 31153 passengers, 34939 seats, 89.16% load factor
LGA-MDW - 25048 passengers, 27110 seats, 92.39% load factor
LGB-MDW - 6842 passengers, 9506 seats, 71.98% load factor
MCI-MDW - 26913 passengers, 30129 seats, 89.33% load factor
MCO-MDW - 69560 passengers, 78925 seats, 88.13% load factor
MDW-MEM - 15441 passengers, 17586 seats, 87.80% load factor
MDW-MIA - 20300 passengers, 26455 seats, 76.73% load factor
MDW-MSP - 31505 passengers, 38130 seats, 82.63% load factor
MDW-MSY - 22732 passengers, 24949 seats, 91.11% load factor
MDW-MYR - 2037 passengers, 2574 seats, 79.14% load factor
MDW-OAK - 17269 passengers, 18670 seats, 92.50% load factor
MDW-OKC - 8518 passengers, 9890 seats, 86.13% load factor
MDW-OMA - 20867 passengers, 23829 seats, 87.57% load factor
MDW-ORF - 8774 passengers, 9604 seats, 91.36% load factor
MDW-PDX - 13987 passengers, 15605 seats, 89.63% load factor
MDW-PHL - 12928 passengers, 13932 seats, 92.79% load factor
MDW-PHX - 68555 passengers, 78319 seats, 87.53% load factor
MDW-PIT - 15567 passengers, 18077 seats, 86.11% load factor
MDW-PNS - 1615 passengers, 1718 seats, 94.00% load factor
MDW-PVD - 4336 passengers, 4708 seats, 92.10% load factor
MDW-RDU - 17228 passengers, 18749 seats, 91.89% load factor
MDW-RIC - 9252 passengers, 13066 seats, 70.81% load factor
MDW-RNO - 3393 passengers, 5850 seats, 58.00% load factor
MDW-RSW - 37757 passengers, 46360 seats, 81.44% load factor
MDW-SAN - 21504 passengers, 24648 seats, 87.24% load factor
MDW-SAT - 7903 passengers, 9442 seats, 83.70% load factor
MDW-SAV - 7244 passengers, 9359 seats, 77.40% load factor
MDW-SDF - 15360 passengers, 18466 seats, 83.18% load factor
MDW-SEA - 12588 passengers, 14982 seats, 84.02% load factor
MDW-SFO - 8383 passengers, 9506 seats, 88.19% load factor
MDW-SJC - 9012 passengers, 10338 seats, 87.17% load factor
MDW-SJU - 1123 passengers, 1430 seats, 78.53% load factor
MDW-SLC - 15488 passengers, 24296 seats, 63.75% load factor
MDW-SMF - 13459 passengers, 14854 seats, 90.61% load factor
MDW-SNA - 6702 passengers, 8723 seats, 76.83% load factor
MDW-SRQ - 10190 passengers, 16588 seats, 61.43% load factor
MDW-STL - 29345 passengers, 33672 seats, 87.15% load factor
MDW-TPA - 44262 passengers, 51578 seats, 85.82% load factor
MDW-TUS - 7624 passengers, 9730 seats, 78.36% load factor

jplatts · Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:46 pm

Here are the number of passengers, number of seats, and load factors for WN flights out of ORD in May 2021:
BNA-ORD - 13708 passengers, 24739 seats, 55.41% load factor
BWI-ORD - 12119 passengers, 21164 seats, 57.26% load factor
DAL-ORD - 19763 passengers, 26169 seats, 75.52% load factor
DEN-ORD - 24876 passengers, 38753 seats, 64.19% load factor
LAS-ORD - 3608 passengers, 4004 seats, 90.11% load factor
MCO-ORD - 4813 passengers, 5434 seats, 88.57% load factor
ORD-PHX - 15475 passengers, 17732 seats, 87.27% load factor
ORD-RSW - 1152 passengers, 1430 seats, 80.56% load factor
ORD-TPA - 1116 passengers, 1430 seats, 78.04% load factor

DeltaMD95 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:17 am

Are the 787-8 and 787-9 now the only domestic wide bodies operated by UA and AA from ORD?

Separately, 717 service has returned to ORD by way of DL DTW. Would be nice to see the type return to ATL- ORD as well.

kordcj · Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:12 am

DeltaMD95 wrote:
Are the 787-8 and 787-9 now the only domestic wide bodies operated by UA and AA from ORD?

Separately, 717 service has returned to ORD by way of DL DTW. Would be nice to see the type return to ATL- ORD as well.

I’ve seen the occasional AA 777-200ER from DFW. UA will send a 777-200ER from DEN. Also the 77W has been operating at least once per day on SFO/MCO and the daily to HNL, but I don’t think this is the long term plan. Maybe when the 77As return, we’ll see MCO and HNL remain with those types.

DL has been operating ATL-ORD with A321/757-200 which has been surprising. I still get a kick out of the A221s flying in from SEA. Gives the airport some nice variety to the flocks of EJets and RJs.

MLIAA · Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:59 pm

DeltaMD95 wrote:
Are the 787-8 and 787-9 now the only domestic wide bodies operated by UA and AA from ORD?

Separately, 717 service has returned to ORD by way of DL DTW. Would be nice to see the type return to ATL- ORD as well.

AA will be bringing the 777-200 from MIA in the coming months.

ORDfan · Mon Aug 16, 2021 7:48 pm

kordcj wrote:
DeltaMD95 wrote:
Are the 787-8 and 787-9 now the only domestic wide bodies operated by UA and AA from ORD?

Separately, 717 service has returned to ORD by way of DL DTW. Would be nice to see the type return to ATL- ORD as well.

I’ve seen the occasional AA 777-200ER from DFW. UA will send a 777-200ER from DEN. Also the 77W has been operating at least once per day on SFO/MCO and the daily to HNL, but I don’t think this is the long term plan. Maybe when the 77As return, we’ll see MCO and HNL remain with those types.

DL has been operating ATL-ORD with A321/757-200 which has been surprising. I still get a kick out of the A221s flying in from SEA. Gives the airport some nice variety to the flocks of EJets and RJs.

I might be wrong, but wasn't UA planning to run the 77W on ORD-FRA, at least pre-pandemic?

ILikeTrains · Tue Aug 17, 2021 1:22 am

ORDfan wrote:
kordcj wrote:
DeltaMD95 wrote:
Are the 787-8 and 787-9 now the only domestic wide bodies operated by UA and AA from ORD?

Separately, 717 service has returned to ORD by way of DL DTW. Would be nice to see the type return to ATL- ORD as well.

I’ve seen the occasional AA 777-200ER from DFW. UA will send a 777-200ER from DEN. Also the 77W has been operating at least once per day on SFO/MCO and the daily to HNL, but I don’t think this is the long term plan. Maybe when the 77As return, we’ll see MCO and HNL remain with those types.

DL has been operating ATL-ORD with A321/757-200 which has been surprising. I still get a kick out of the A221s flying in from SEA. Gives the airport some nice variety to the flocks of EJets and RJs.

I might be wrong, but wasn't UA planning to run the 77W on ORD-FRA, at least pre-pandemic?

Pre-pandemic, United was flying only 763’s and 772’s out of ORD. Now United is looking to be a primarily 763 and 787 base. FRA was supposed to be either a 789 or 78X

yeogeo · Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:13 pm

United is ending ORD-RST (Rochester MN) flights on September 1. American continues to offer the city pair.

https://www.postbulletin.com/business/t ... op-flights

United had been offering service To Rochester In'tl Airport since 2017.

As an aside, Mayo Clinic is a huge presence in the city of course, but didn't know it is a large presence at RST as well:
"Mayo Clinic founded Rochester’s first airport in 1928. While the City of Rochester owns the airport, Mayo Clinic is contracted to manage it through its Rochester Airport Co. firm."

yeogeo · Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:24 pm

First visit to O'Hare by Air Force One (tail code 2800) under the Biden administration, July 7.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh ... force-one/

gabik001 · Fri Aug 20, 2021 2:30 am

Finally yesterday cought CAL Cargo Airline (Challenge Airlines) 4X-ICA landed at 10C. It was scheduled to fly to ORD from JFK several times previously and always ended that she flew to LGG. Last time when I saw it here was several years ago and I am pretty sure it was B742F flight for ElAl Cargo.

Planeboy17 · Fri Aug 20, 2021 6:46 pm

Heads up. DL 8859 an 339 is about to hit the MI shoreline inbound to ORD today. It’s coming from BUF. Im assuming this is the Bills charter for the Bears preseason game?
Also, does anyone know if Air India is going to restart the HYD flights again?

SJOtoLIR · Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:39 pm

American Airlines will begin flights from Chicago O'Hare to both San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica.

AA ORD-SJO. 3x weekly
AA ORD-LIR. 1x weekly
Effective: November 02nd.

Related press release: https://ticotimes.net/2021/08/20/american-airlines-to-fly-between-chicago-and-costa-rica

scaledesigns · Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:14 pm

gabik001 wrote:
Finally yesterday cought CAL Cargo Airline (Challenge Airlines) 4X-ICA landed at 10C. It was scheduled to fly to ORD from JFK several times previously and always ended that she flew to LGG. Last time when I saw it here was several years ago and I am pretty sure it was B742F flight for ElAl Cargo.

I have seen a CAL cargo "challenge excepted" 747 in here 2 times before this year. This one had the tail colors. We should be seeing the new National 747 here soon as it was out of paint a few days ago. Also Icelandair is back to 737 Max's. Not sure when the 757's will be back?? And American Eagle should have their retro E170 at ORD soon.

yeogeo · Fri Aug 20, 2021 10:25 pm

gabik001 wrote:
Finally yesterday cought CAL Cargo Airline (Challenge Airlines) 4X-ICA landed at 10C. It was scheduled to fly to ORD from JFK several times previously and always ended that she flew to LGG. Last time when I saw it here was several years ago and I am pretty sure it was B742F flight for ElAl Cargo.

scaledesigns wrote:
I have seen a CAL cargo "challenge excepted" 747 in here 2 times before this year. This one had the tail colors.

gabik001 · Mon Aug 23, 2021 12:33 am

scaledesigns wrote:
gabik001 wrote:
Finally yesterday cought CAL Cargo Airline (Challenge Airlines) 4X-ICA landed at 10C. It was scheduled to fly to ORD from JFK several times previously and always ended that she flew to LGG. Last time when I saw it here was several years ago and I am pretty sure it was B742F flight for ElAl Cargo.

I have seen a CAL cargo "challenge excepted" 747 in here 2 times before this year. This one had the tail colors. We should be seeing the new National 747 here soon as it was out of paint a few days ago. Also Icelandair is back to 737 Max's. Not sure when the 757's will be back?? And American Eagle should have their retro E170 at ORD soon.

china
Yep, It was 4X-ICB sometime in July this year when I was on vacation. Also seems like China Eastern terminated ORD as of now.

CPS001 · Mon Aug 23, 2021 1:13 am

I flew into T5 (AI) at ORD yesterday, connecting out from T3 (AA), and boy was it a hot mess. 3 77Ws landed back-to-back which meant I spent 3, yes three, hours at immigration. All pax were in a single queue regardless of citizenship or cabin, except for wheelchairs and global entry which got priority. Needless to say I missed my connection and had to wait 6 hrs for the next flight. It's amazing to think that the international terminal at one of the world's busiest airports can fail so badly. There were about a couple dozen booths available but only 5 or 6 were actually staffed. There were no kiosks which I have seen at other US airports. I don't know if this is the norm or an exception but I will not go out of my way to transit at ORD anytime soon. Sorry for the rant but after 30+ hours of travel, it was a miserable experience.

jcwr56 · Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:32 am

CPS001 wrote:
I flew into T5 (AI) at ORD yesterday, connecting out from T3 (AA), and boy was it a hot mess. 3 77Ws landed back-to-back which meant I spent 3, yes three, hours at immigration. All pax were in a single queue regardless of citizenship or cabin, except for wheelchairs and global entry which got priority. Needless to say I missed my connection and had to wait 6 hrs for the next flight. It's amazing to think that the international terminal at one of the world's busiest airports can fail so badly. There were about a couple dozen booths available but only 5 or 6 were actually staffed. There were no kiosks which I have seen at other US airports. I don't know if this is the norm or an exception but I will not go out of my way to transit at ORD anytime soon. Sorry for the rant but after 30+ hours of travel, it was a miserable experience.

So lets get this right...you blame the CDA for a Federal Problem by lack of CBP staff?

SurfandSnow · Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:55 am

jcwr56 wrote:
CPS001 wrote:
I flew into T5 (AI) at ORD yesterday, connecting out from T3 (AA), and boy was it a hot mess. 3 77Ws landed back-to-back which meant I spent 3, yes three, hours at immigration. All pax were in a single queue regardless of citizenship or cabin, except for wheelchairs and global entry which got priority. Needless to say I missed my connection and had to wait 6 hrs for the next flight. It's amazing to think that the international terminal at one of the world's busiest airports can fail so badly. There were about a couple dozen booths available but only 5 or 6 were actually staffed. There were no kiosks which I have seen at other US airports. I don't know if this is the norm or an exception but I will not go out of my way to transit at ORD anytime soon. Sorry for the rant but after 30+ hours of travel, it was a miserable experience.

So lets get this right...you blame the CDA for a Federal Problem by lack of CBP staff?

I flew into ORD Terminal 5 earlier this month on F9, and got the sense that the place is definitely a hot mess. 230 of us arrived on a chock full redeye from LAS - those F9 A321s sure do move quite a few people! Redeye arrivals at ORD are usually serene and easy, but maybe that's just at the domestic terminals. Having been seated in the aisle of row 1 on the LAS-ORD flight I was the first one off the plane and followed the ground agent right up to an international arrival door. Suddenly realizing her mistake, we then had to turn around and fight crowds of bleary passengers crammed into a tiny arrival hallway all the way over to the domestic arrival terminal entrance. Once inside the terminal itself, the entire place felt filthy, run down, devoid of amenities and very poorly signed. Eventually we stumbled through a food court full of sleeping employees to the tiny, dingy baggage claim area. There wasn't a working electrical outlet in sight, or any staff at all to guide or assist passengers once landside.

As an American citizen, it is absolutely embarrassing to think that this decrepit terminal facility serves international passengers that may be headed to and/or arriving from world class airports like DOH, DXB, ICN, MUC and ZRH. Once I had my checked bag, I began to look for the train over to Terminal 1 so that I could hop on the el to get downtown. Apparently that train broke down and is out of service, so I ended up on a bus over to the domestic terminals that now runs in its place. One of the F9 flight attendants was waiting for the bus herself, and when she saw me looked and sounded absolutely shocked that a passenger from her flight had gotten his bag and found this bus to the public transit so quickly. Again, the signage was extremely poor throughout the terminal and all customer service staff seemingly asleep or otherwise completely uninterested in assisting passengers. I'm guessing the Terminal 5 arrival process, even as a domestic passenger, is typically an extremely miserable one indeed!

CPS001 · Mon Aug 23, 2021 2:16 pm

jcwr56 wrote:
So lets get this right...you blame the CDA for a Federal Problem by lack of CBP staff?

I just stated my experience. And sure, some people might know exactly who to blame and that a lack of CBP staff is indeed a Federal issue, but at the end of the day thousands and thousands of pax who didn't know that will just say ORD was terrible. I would have written the same post had it been any other airport with a similar experience. Some things could have been handled better by ORD...better terminal design (this was a tightly packed low-ceiling sterile room with patchy cell service and no seating); maybe spacing out arrivals or if that is too much to ask, letting pax wait on the plane if immigration is backed up; perhaps having a separate line for US citizens; etc. There were senior citizens and families with infants and toddlers waiting for hours, and they will still blame ORD even if they were made aware that it's a federal problem, that's the hard truth.

USAAUA · Mon Aug 23, 2021 3:43 pm

SurfandSnow wrote:
jcwr56 wrote:
CPS001 wrote:
Once I had my checked bag, I began to look for the train over to Terminal 1 so that I could hop on the el to get downtown. Apparently that train broke down and is out of service, so I ended up on a bus over to the domestic terminals that now runs in its place.

The train didn't break down. It has been closed for years for an ongoing renovation. It should have been operations years ago also. It is an embarrassment.

ORDfan · Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:24 pm

SurfandSnow wrote:
jcwr56 wrote:
CPS001 wrote:
I flew into T5 (AI) at ORD yesterday, connecting out from T3 (AA), and boy was it a hot mess. 3 77Ws landed back-to-back which meant I spent 3, yes three, hours at immigration. All pax were in a single queue regardless of citizenship or cabin, except for wheelchairs and global entry which got priority. Needless to say I missed my connection and had to wait 6 hrs for the next flight. It's amazing to think that the international terminal at one of the world's busiest airports can fail so badly. There were about a couple dozen booths available but only 5 or 6 were actually staffed. There were no kiosks which I have seen at other US airports. I don't know if this is the norm or an exception but I will not go out of my way to transit at ORD anytime soon. Sorry for the rant but after 30+ hours of travel, it was a miserable experience.

So lets get this right...you blame the CDA for a Federal Problem by lack of CBP staff?

I flew into ORD Terminal 5 earlier this month on F9, and got the sense that the place is definitely a hot mess. 230 of us arrived on a chock full redeye from LAS - those F9 A321s sure do move quite a few people! Redeye arrivals at ORD are usually serene and easy, but maybe that's just at the domestic terminals. Having been seated in the aisle of row 1 on the LAS-ORD flight I was the first one off the plane and followed the ground agent right up to an international arrival door. Suddenly realizing her mistake, we then had to turn around and fight crowds of bleary passengers crammed into a tiny arrival hallway all the way over to the domestic arrival terminal entrance. Once inside the terminal itself, the entire place felt filthy, run down, devoid of amenities and very poorly signed. Eventually we stumbled through a food court full of sleeping employees to the tiny, dingy baggage claim area. There wasn't a working electrical outlet in sight, or any staff at all to guide or assist passengers once landside.

As an American citizen, it is absolutely embarrassing to think that this decrepit terminal facility serves international passengers that may be headed to and/or arriving from world class airports like DOH, DXB, ICN, MUC and ZRH. Once I had my checked bag, I began to look for the train over to Terminal 1 so that I could hop on the el to get downtown. Apparently that train broke down and is out of service, so I ended up on a bus over to the domestic terminals that now runs in its place. One of the F9 flight attendants was waiting for the bus herself, and when she saw me looked and sounded absolutely shocked that a passenger from her flight had gotten his bag and found this bus to the public transit so quickly. Again, the signage was extremely poor throughout the terminal and all customer service staff seemingly asleep or otherwise completely uninterested in assisting passengers. I'm guessing the Terminal 5 arrival process, even as a domestic passenger, is typically an extremely miserable one indeed!

I'm not sure if you guys read this thread often, but this was discussed upthread (page 9) just a couple weeks ago. Yes, I agree: T5 is in rough shape and needs to be updated badly. The good news: it is. See the thread, T5 is a house under rehab.... full update/expansion/modernization is under way.

Take a chill pill. CDA will get it right. One of my neighbors works for Kimley Horn - ORD is going to be a civil engineer's dream for the next decade+ with the OGT and satellites. He said they have guys all over world trying to work on the ORD projects. There are very few airports that have more international non-stops on foreign flags. T5 is getting bigger and I'm confident the remodel will be nice.

Elkadad313 · Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:33 am

ORDfan wrote:

I'm not sure if you guys read this thread often, but this was discussed upthread (page 9) just a couple weeks ago. Yes, I agree: T5 is in rough shape and needs to be updated badly. The good news: it is. See the thread, T5 is a house under rehab.... full update/expansion/modernization is under way.

Take a chill pill. CDA will get it right. One of my neighbors works for Kimley Horn - ORD is going to be a civil engineer's dream for the next decade+ with the OGT and satellites. He said they have guys all over world trying to work on the ORD projects. There are very few airports that have more international non-stops on foreign flags. T5 is getting bigger and I'm confident the remodel will be nice.

And when all is said and done ORD will have added what, 4-5 gates. Yes, ground congestion will be reduced but 4-5 gates? :stirthepot:

ORDfan · Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:18 am

Elkadad313 wrote:
ORDfan wrote:

I'm not sure if you guys read this thread often, but this was discussed upthread (page 9) just a couple weeks ago. Yes, I agree: T5 is in rough shape and needs to be updated badly. The good news: it is. See the thread, T5 is a house under rehab.... full update/expansion/modernization is under way.

Take a chill pill. CDA will get it right. One of my neighbors works for Kimley Horn - ORD is going to be a civil engineer's dream for the next decade+ with the OGT and satellites. He said they have guys all over world trying to work on the ORD projects. There are very few airports that have more international non-stops on foreign flags. T5 is getting bigger and I'm confident the remodel will be nice.

And when all is said and done ORD will have added what, 4-5 gates. Yes, ground congestion will be reduced but 4-5 gates?

10 new gates at T5, alone... another 30-40 new gates from OGT, depending on which article you read.

jayunited · Tue Aug 24, 2021 4:13 am

Elkadad313 wrote:
ORDfan wrote:

I'm not sure if you guys read this thread often, but this was discussed upthread (page 9) just a couple weeks ago. Yes, I agree: T5 is in rough shape and needs to be updated badly. The good news: it is. See the thread, T5 is a house under rehab.... full update/expansion/modernization is under way.

Take a chill pill. CDA will get it right. One of my neighbors works for Kimley Horn - ORD is going to be a civil engineer's dream for the next decade+ with the OGT and satellites. He said they have guys all over world trying to work on the ORD projects. There are very few airports that have more international non-stops on foreign flags. T5 is getting bigger and I'm confident the remodel will be nice.

And when all is said and done ORD will have added what, 4-5 gates. Yes, ground congestion will be reduced but 4-5 gates?

I would implore you to read the entire thread.

Like others have pointed out T5 is in rough shape right now because of the construction but once construction is finished there will be 10 additional gates at T5 and once the old T2 is torn down and replaced with the new Global terminal that will open up even more space at T5. Granted we are still years away from the new Global Terminal, but passengers traveling out of terminal 5 should be able to enjoy a smoother experience by some point in 2022 if the T5 project is still on schedule.

winter · Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:30 am

ORDfan wrote:
Elkadad313 wrote:
ORDfan wrote:

I'm not sure if you guys read this thread often, but this was discussed upthread (page 9) just a couple weeks ago. Yes, I agree: T5 is in rough shape and needs to be updated badly. The good news: it is. See the thread, T5 is a house under rehab.... full update/expansion/modernization is under way.

Take a chill pill. CDA will get it right. One of my neighbors works for Kimley Horn - ORD is going to be a civil engineer's dream for the next decade+ with the OGT and satellites. He said they have guys all over world trying to work on the ORD projects. There are very few airports that have more international non-stops on foreign flags. T5 is getting bigger and I'm confident the remodel will be nice.

And when all is said and done ORD will have added what, 4-5 gates. Yes, ground congestion will be reduced but 4-5 gates?

10 new gates at T5, alone... another 30-40 new gates from OGT, depending on which article you read.

When you take the number of lost gates due to tear down, the net gain is only 11-12 gates for the entire modernization plan.

MLIAA · Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:52 pm

winter wrote:
ORDfan wrote:
Elkadad313 wrote:
And when all is said and done ORD will have added what, 4-5 gates. Yes, ground congestion will be reduced but 4-5 gates?

10 new gates at T5, alone... another 30-40 new gates from OGT, depending on which article you read.

When you take the number of lost gates due to tear down, the net gain is only 11-12 gates for the entire modernization plan.

Don’t forget the L stinger is technically part of OMP I think, that’s 5 gates right there. Plus all the new T5 gates and then a net gain at the rest of the terminal core/satellites. I don’t have a number but it’s a large gain.

schernov · Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:53 pm

I have been flying T5 for years. It is getting old and some of it is design issues.

Outbound departures originating in T5. I would rank it fine overall. Key issues is that edge gates (1-3) and (19-21) and middle peer (8-11) are way too crowded. Otherwise, after recent remodel of TSA and Duty free it's reasonable. Obviously with domestic travel with southwest and frontier - the dynamic has changed.

International Arrivals are bad. The choke point at immigration hall does not help. Passenger splitting into US citizens and non Citizens should be done way ahead of reaching the booths. Same with Global Entry and Mobile passport.

Only used Aer Lingus domestic arrival which was years ago and it was fine.

I have never connected in ORD as I live here but I can only imagine how painful it is with the bus. Luggage recheck is confusing as UA and AA are on different sides and it's not clear. Signs suck.

It will get worse before it gets better. T5 was not designed for domestic ops. That's the issue.

Planeboy17 · Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:47 pm

First off, let’s not chastise people by telling them to take a chill pill when they are describing their experiences at ORD. We should listen intently and recognize the weaknesses of the airport and let them know that these complaints are legitimate and being addressed. I’m a lifelong Chicagoan who has great pride for ORD but there’s no question that T5’s issues have been known for a long time and the current improvement undertaking should have been done sooner. When T5 first opened, I think in 1992? It was glorious and I think it was the single largest international terminal in the US. However, for various reasons, 9/11, the Great Receession, COVID, plans kept getting scuttled and now we finally have a plan to greatly improve the airport and just about all of the terminals.
Secondly, the gates that will be lost are going to be from T2. I count 43 operational gates among Concourses E and F. Some of these gates will be replaced with the addition of the satellite concourses on T1 but remember that most of the gates on T2 today are for the 50 seat jets who have very small wingspans. Those jets are being removed from just about every airline, they won’t all be gone of course, but the number of gates will diminish because of the need for expanded wingspans. That’s one important reason why the additional gates don’t seem like a big gain.
Lastly, ORD has taken some serious lumps with the ATS (tram), T5 issues, etc. but it also is nearing the end of having 8 operational runways, a feat no other airport can boast of which has greatly reduced delays at the airport and the building of the NE Cargo ramp opened just in time of the influx of cargo ops the last 18 months along with various other projects such as new hangars, ATC towers, road improvements, new fire stations and various other projects. The point is ORD can do make bone headed decisions sometimes but it also can do an amazing job of moving so many people every day.

yeogeo · Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:40 pm

77W N2331U is departing as UA2586 for Ramstein Air Base this evening.
This aircraft over the next few days is scheduled to operate ORD-RMS-IAD-RMS-IAD in support of the Afghan evacuation.

schernov · Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:59 pm

Looks like ORD is having thunderstorms...some planes get rerouted to IND. Finnair 9 just got sent there.
LH and BA are doing circles on the border of OH/IN.....
IceAir got diverted to cleveland

United787 · Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:46 am

Just flew IAD-ORD on UA 468. We diverted to CMH for a while. Check out our routing from CMH to ORD!!!

kordcj · Thu Aug 26, 2021 4:06 pm

Is today upside down day at ORD? Departures on 9C and 22R while arrivals land 9L and 10C? I’ve never seen this operation before. Is there something special going on?

gabik001 · Sat Aug 28, 2021 4:50 pm

Last week I saw operations on 28C and 22R for a while like in the old good times (28C was renamed twice but previously was 27L) and later they switched to both crosswind runways.

yeogeo · Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:52 pm

ITA (Italia Trasporto Aereo), the proposed successor to Alitalia, has begun to lay out a timeline for its routes to the U.S., according to Simple Flying.

"The bulk of ITA’s long-haul services will come out of Rome. Initial routes will run to Boston, New York, and Miami. Then, from 2022, ITA plans to add Washington D.C. and Los Angeles to its route map out of Rome. Finally, from 2023, Chicago and San Francisco will see the airline’s planes flying customers to Rome."

https://simpleflying.com/ita-us-flights ... ple+Flying

A lot can change in a couple of years so obviously this should be taken with a big grain of salt. Still, this is the first mention of an Italian carrier returning to O'Hare that I've seen.

https://www.hdmotori.it/trasporti/artic ... obre-2021/

BEG2IAH · Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:29 pm

I went to pick up someone at O'Hare last night. I know there is a lot of construction going on, but everything from the terminal 1 parking garage, through the low-level hallway to the baggage claim looked really bad. On top of it, I don't know if there is a way to better control the A/C at the baggage claim in the evening hours when there are not that many pax around, but I thought the area was chilled down to maybe mid 50s and the UA rep who works there wore a winter coat.

If you try to drive to pick up someone at the curb, the whole arrivals area on all three terminals looks like a war zone and it took me longer to make one circle around three terminals than actually drive from home to the airport. I understand a lot is going on at O'Hare these days, but did they really have to blow up everything at once? And it won't look better for years.

SRQLOT · Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:42 pm

Flew in from Mexico yesterday around noon, and was amazed at the amount of work done on the outside of T5, but inside yes like everyone says it is a mess. Immigration was 45 minutes as the first 30 min of waiting was with only 4 agents, until 4 more showed up. This was only with our Aeromexico and a Volaris flight. I mean the one agent was dealing with both flight crews that long!!

Planeboy17 · Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:29 pm

yeogeo wrote:
ITA (Italia Trasporto Aereo), the proposed successor to Alitalia, has begun to lay out a timeline for its routes to the U.S., according to Simple Flying.

"The bulk of ITA’s long-haul services will come out of Rome. Initial routes will run to Boston, New York, and Miami. Then, from 2022, ITA plans to add Washington D.C. and Los Angeles to its route map out of Rome. Finally, from 2023, Chicago and San Francisco will see the airline’s planes flying customers to Rome."

https://simpleflying.com/ita-us-flights ... ple+Flying

A lot can change in a couple of years so obviously this should be taken with a big grain of salt. Still, this is the first mention of an Italian carrier returning to O'Hare that I've seen.

[url=https://postimages.org/][/url

https://www.hdmotori.it/trasporti/artic ... obre-2021/

It was reported in the AZ restructuring thread that livery was made by someone who was just playing around for potential liveries. It is not an official livery.
I’m happy to see them with a plan but I’m surprised that IAD is a year ahead. Just figured that the long history of service at ORD would help but then again they will only compete with UA out of IAD instead of battling both UA and AA from ORD.

yeogeo · Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:54 pm

At 17:30hrs A333 G-EODS of Geodis (Titan Airways) inaugurated it's first Chicago O'Hare - London Stansted flight.

Geodis plans to operate a daily AMS-STN-ORD & return.
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10282708

ORDfan · Tue Sep 07, 2021 4:25 pm

July CDA air traffic data posted.

Cargo tonnage continues to impressive with very strong growth.

But I also find it interesting that int'l pax at ORD is now only down 2% YTD, with 1Q20 being pre-lockdown in the US, and the last 'normal' quarter.

https://www.flychicago.com/SiteCollecti ... 202021.pdf

https://www.flychicago.com/SiteCollecti ... 202021.pdf

gabik001 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:13 pm

yeogeo wrote:
At 17:30hrs A333 G-EODS of Geodis (Titan Airways) inaugurated it's first Chicago O'Hare - London Stansted flight.

Geodis plans to operate a daily AMS-STN-ORD & return.
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10282708

Departure was late 2 hours but good to have something different. Looking forward for next time arrival. Hopefully in the daylight.

scaledesigns · Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:54 pm

Very nice A330. I saw the Latam Star Wars 777-300 again at ORD today. I think they are doing 3-4 flights a week now?

yeogeo · Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:50 pm

scaledesigns wrote:
I saw the Latam Star Wars 777-300 again at ORD today. I think they are doing 3-4 flights a week now?

PT-MUA

Hopefully somebody will get a shot of that machine at O'Hare!

scaledesigns · Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:47 pm

Hope so. Caught the regular colors last week at ORD. I think we should see the new National 747 ex fire bomber colors at ORD soon. Sun is great this time of year at ORD. Best month is December, so you have to freeze to get the best photos!!

https://www.airlinefan.com/airline-phot ... G/2069990/

gabik001 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 3:59 am

yeogeo wrote:
scaledesigns wrote:
I saw the Latam Star Wars 777-300 again at ORD today. I think they are doing 3-4 flights a week now?

PT-MUA

Hopefully somebody will get a shot of that machine at O'Hare!

Got both, regular (on Friday) and Star Wars (few weeks ago) and the last one was total coincidence - I did not know that it will be this c/s. Actually both taken at 10C. Now its time to get them from the port side.

gabik001 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:26 pm

ZT141 is again heading ORD. ETA 9:40pm, no departure time scheduled yet.

schernov · Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:13 am

So I flew into T5 last night on AY(Finnair). A350 -900
I was connecting in Helsinki from on other non-schengen flight. Had 45 min. Made it. Bag made it. Overall Finnair experience (in J) was outstanding.
When we landed - we got parked at one or the temporary gates ( although I think the actual jet bridge pole is at the proper future location ) - M20A.
It connects to the maze running along the new extension and can rival in length with LHR gates at the edges of T5B/C - those long ones that seem to be a mile away. One you get thru the maze you get to the ramp down and then into the old building.

We landed at 520pm. Immigration was empty. It took me 2 min to clear Global Entry and bags came out 8 min later. Gate to outside was under 20 min and that's with walking from the furthest point.

Also it looks like the center of T5 is getting its expansion and new glass already.

jcwr56 · Thu Sep 09, 2021 11:44 am

schernov wrote:
So I flew into T5 last night on AY(Finnair). A350 -900
I was connecting in Helsinki from on other non-schengen flight. Had 45 min. Made it. Bag made it. Overall Finnair experience (in J) was outstanding.
When we landed - we got parked at one or the temporary gates ( although I think the actual jet bridge pole is at the proper future location ) - M20A.
It connects to the maze running along the new extension and can rival in length with LHR gates at the edges of T5B/C - those long ones that seem to be a mile away. One you get thru the maze you get to the ramp down and then into the old building.

We landed at 520pm. Immigration was empty. It took me 2 min to clear Global Entry and bags came out 8 min later. Gate to outside was under 20 min and that's with walking from the furthest point.

Also it looks like the center of T5 is getting its expansion and new glass already.

Glad to hear you had a positive experience. There's acknowledgement all around that T5 in its current state is a house under major work and that the overall passenger experience will be subpar for at least another 12-18 months. Mind you, there are two upcoming changes that will help some change that. The completion of the main security checkpoint within the next 30 days and the opening of hold rooms M8 and M9 around mid October within the new headhouse expansion area.

Without saying too much, the gate hold rooms and concourse from M12 eastward get completely redone and I would say personally the CDA and Airlines are trying to right some of the wrongs, which isn't a bad thing.

dopplerd · Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:45 pm

Any updates on the Delta T5 move timeline?

yeogeo · Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:42 pm

schernov wrote:
So I flew into T5 last night on AY(Finnair). A350 -900...

Just curious as to what the load was like on your HEL-ORD?

schernov · Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:16 pm

yeogeo wrote:
schernov wrote:
So I flew into T5 last night on AY(Finnair). A350 -900...

Just curious as to what the load was like on your HEL-ORD?

Not great.
6 people in J.
Y - maybe 50% full

On the other hand my outbound on AA - ORD-LHR was a full flight (787-9).

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