How to master Chicago O’Hare: the British business traveller’s guide to America’s heartland hub

Four terminals, eight runways and a hub shared by both of America’s largest airlines. O’Hare is the great crossroads of the American Midwest, one of the busiest airports on earth, and in the midst of an 8.5-billion-dollar rebuild. Here is how to make it work for you, not against you.

Chicago O’Hare is the airport of the American Midwest and one of the busiest in the world, a vast operation that is, unusually, a major hub for both United Airlines and American Airlines at once, giving it an enormous network across the United States and beyond.

For the British traveller it is both a destination in its own right, serving a city that is a powerhouse of finance, futures trading, law and corporate America, with one of the largest convention centres on the continent, and a major connecting point for onward travel across the country. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and United all fly here from London.

Two quirks are worth knowing before anything else. The airport has four terminals, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 5, with no Terminal 4. And O’Hare is in the midst of an 8.5-billion-dollar transformation, branded O’Hare 21, that will replace the old Terminal 2 with a vast new Global Terminal, add satellite concourses and expand the international Terminal 5. For now, the working airport is a busy, sprawling place, well connected to the city by a round-the-clock train and notorious, it must be said, for weather delays in the fierce Chicago winter. This guide covers the terminals, the train, and the things every US arrival demands: immigration, the trusted-traveller programmes, the dollars and the tipping.

Which terminal? it depends on your carrier

O’Hare’s layout takes a moment to grasp, because unlike the single-international-terminal airports, the answer here depends on your airline. Terminal 1 is United’s home, domestic and international, shared with its Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and ANA. Terminal 3 is American’s, and the base for its oneworld partners, so British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Aer Lingus all depart from here. Terminal 5 is the international terminal, used by the other foreign carriers, by Delta, and by Virgin Atlantic, Delta’s partner. So the departing British traveller’s rule is: British Airways from Terminal 3, Virgin Atlantic from Terminal 5, United from Terminal 1.

On arrival the picture differs slightly, because international flights are processed for customs at the terminal with the immigration facility, most often Terminal 5, though United and American handle some of their own arrivals; follow the signage. The terminals are linked by the Airport Transit System, a free automated train circling the airport around the clock, so moving between them is straightforward. Confirm your terminal on your booking, and if you are being collected, make sure your driver comes to the right building, because the terminals are spread around a large site.

The fast way in: a train at any hour

For the journey into Chicago, the standout option is the train. The CTA Blue Line has a station within the airport, reached from the terminals by a short walk or the transit system, and runs directly into downtown Chicago, the Loop, in around forty-five minutes for a fare of about five dollars. Crucially, it runs around the clock, every day, so it covers the very early and very late flights, and it is entirely immune to the traffic of the expressways, which can be heavy. For the business traveller heading downtown or to the near North Side it is cheap, reliable and frequent, the obvious choice unless your destination is awkward for the line. The Metra commuter rail also serves the airport for the suburbs.

O’Hare sits about seventeen miles north-west of the Loop, so the road journey is moderate when the traffic is light and slow at the peaks. The rule for the regular: for downtown and the North Side, the Blue Line at any hour; for an awkward destination or the western suburbs, a taxi, ride-share or, given Chicago’s spread, perhaps a hire car.

Taxis, hire cars and ride-share

For door-to-door convenience a taxi or ride-share from O’Hare is straightforward, taken from the ranks and pick-up areas at each terminal, with the fare downtown typically forty-five to fifty-five dollars once the customary tip is added, and the journey taking anywhere from half an hour to nearly an hour depending on the notorious traffic of the Kennedy Expressway. Uber and Lyft operate from designated areas, including a dedicated pick-up at the car-hire and parking facility reached by the transit train, at demand-based fares. For a single downtown destination, the train is usually quicker and far cheaper, so the cab earns its place mainly for awkward destinations, heavy luggage or late arrivals.

Hiring a car makes sense for a trip into the sprawling suburbs of greater Chicago, the office parks and corporate campuses spread across the region, or for onward travel across the Midwest, with the rental centre at the airport’s Multi-Modal Facility. For a trip focused on downtown, with its expensive parking and dense traffic, the Blue Line is the better answer.

Immigration and security: the part to master

Every UK visitor needs authorisation to enter the United States before travelling: for most business trips that means an approved ESTA under the Visa Waiver Programme, applied for online well ahead and valid for two years, though some travellers require a full visa, so check your circumstances early. Budget for it too, because the fee has risen sharply, as we reported when the new ESTA charges were announced.

On arrival at O’Hare you will clear US Customs and Border Protection at the terminal handling your flight’s customs, most often Terminal 5, which at busy times can mean a substantial queue, followed by a customs declaration. The single most valuable thing a frequent visitor can do is enrol in Global Entry, the trusted-traveller programme open to UK citizens, which lets you skip the main queue at an automated kiosk. It requires a UK background check, a US fee and an interview, so apply months ahead, but it transforms the arrival.

Departure security is run by the TSA, and at a dual hub as busy as O’Hare the checkpoints can be crowded, so allow time. For anyone connecting onto a US domestic flight, TSA PreCheck, included with Global Entry, gives a faster lane, and CLEAR, a paid identity-verification service, moves you to the front of the queue. As one of the country’s great connecting hubs, O’Hare sees these programmes well used.

The lounges worth the walk

O’Hare’s dual-hub status gives it two strong lounge networks, and the essential point is that they sit in different buildings. At Terminal 1, United operates a Polaris Lounge for its long-haul business passengers, among the best business lounges in the United States, alongside its United Clubs. At Terminal 3, American runs its premium Flagship Lounge and a network of Admirals Clubs, the natural spaces for British Airways passengers, who share the oneworld facilities here, with BA providing lounge access for its premium-cabin and status passengers. Terminal 5 has its own set, including a Chase Sapphire Lounge and various airline spaces, useful for the Virgin Atlantic traveller.

Know what your ticket, status or card opens, and crucially which terminal it sits in, before you build your timings around it, because the terminals are separate and connected only by the transit train. A Club World ticket or oneworld status opens the Flagship or Admirals Club at Terminal 3; a Polaris business ticket the Polaris Lounge at Terminal 1; Upper Class a lounge at Terminal 5.

Eating, buying and the last good meal

Dining at O’Hare is solid for an airport of its scale, with a strong local character: alongside the national chains you will find outposts of well-known Chicago names, deep-dish pizza, hot dogs done the Chicago way, and a range of better sit-down options that have improved with investment. The choice is spread across the four terminals, and because they are separate buildings you eat in your own rather than crossing to another. Shopping follows the American pattern, with the practical well covered, the technology, the pharmacy and the bookshop, alongside duty-free and a good line in Chicago and Illinois gifts. Replace the forgotten charger or US plug adaptor airside, and watch the boarding screens, because the hub concourses can involve a long walk to a far gate.

Where to stay

O’Hare has a genuinely convenient on-airport hotel: the Hilton Chicago O’Hare sits at the centre of the terminal core, connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by an underground walkway, so you can reach it without going outside, ideal for an early flight, a late arrival or an overnight connection. Beyond it, a large cluster of chain hotels surrounds the airport, reached by shuttle, with the suburban business district of Rosemont and its convention facilities close by. For a trip centred on the city, though, the round-the-clock Blue Line makes a downtown hotel a thoroughly practical base, near the Loop, the Magnificent Mile and the McCormick Place convention centre, with the train back to the airport cheap and frequent at any hour.

Connecting onward

O’Hare is one of the great connecting airports of the United States, so for the UK traveller flying onward the process matters. There is no airside transit in America: on arrival you must clear immigration, collect your checked bags, pass through customs, re-check the bags and clear security again before your onward domestic flight, even on a single ticket. Because O’Hare’s customs facilities and the airline terminals are separate buildings, you may also need the transit train between your arrival and departure terminals, which adds time. Allow a long connection, never a tight one, and more again in winter when weather delays are common. Global Entry speeds immigration, the included TSA PreCheck speeds the re-screening, and hand luggage only removes the reclaim and re-check entirely. The drill is the same at every US gateway, as our Newark Liberty guide sets out, but O’Hare’s separate buildings and its winters demand extra slack.

The regular’s playbook

The habits of the seasoned O’Hare flyer distil to this. Sort the ESTA well ahead. Know your terminal: BA at 3, Virgin at 5, United at 1, and no Terminal 4. Get Global Entry. Take the Blue Line downtown, about five dollars, forty-five minutes, at any hour. Use the free transit train between the separate terminals, and know which building your lounge is in. Budget for tipping, 15 to 20 per cent, on every fare and bill. For an early flight or a connection, the on-airport Hilton is connected by walkway. And in the colder months, build in slack for Chicago’s weather, the airport’s one great unmanageable. Get these right and the sprawling dual hub becomes orderly and navigable, a discipline that will feel familiar to anyone who has mastered a multi-terminal hub like Heathrow.

The bigger picture

The defining story at O’Hare is its great transformation, the programme known as O’Hare 21. At its heart is the demolition of the old Terminal 2 and its replacement by a striking new Global Terminal, designed to bring international and domestic flights together under one roof and give the airport the modern, unified front door it has long lacked, supported by new satellite concourses, an expanded Terminal 5 and improved roads and transit. Costing some 8.5 billion dollars, it is one of the largest airport projects in the country, intended to secure O’Hare’s place as a pre-eminent global hub for decades and to ease the disjointed, terminal-hopping experience that has long characterised it. For the traveller the benefits lie a few years ahead, with construction to be navigated in the meantime. But the direction is clear: the heartland’s gateway to the world is being rebuilt to match its ambitions.