Chicago O'Hare Airport

Arriving into the US after a long transatlantic flight to be greeted by the longest looking Immigration queue of all time is not the best start to a visit to the US (four flights arriving at the same time from Asia and Europe). Non-US citizens queue took 1h 30 mins to get through and in this time the security staff walk around like prison guards checking that not a single person dare use their cellphone until after immigration. Immigration officers treat you as if you are a possible suspect with questioning and attitude not found at any other airport or country worldwide. Check-in areas are however relatively pleasant - numerous self check-in machines (for United Airlines anyway) in the US- domestic area and security not a problem if you have a Star Alliance Gold/Silver card for instance as there is an express lane for such holders which was a nice surprise. Flight expected departure time updates for both domestic and international flights was found to be largely erratic - if the flight is on-time then the gate/time info is fine but if your flight is delayed low betide if you can get any accurate info on where you should go and how long you will be waiting for. For several ORD-LHR flights that I have taken over the past few months majority have been delayed and the new departure time has almost never been provided nor has gate info. Meant that pax were wandering around not having a clue whether the flight is cancelled/delayed etc and airport customer services queues were perhaps 30 mins long if you wanted to go find out.

Now that water bottles are not allowed to be carried through security guess what has happened to the price of a bottle of water? I had to pay $2.75 for a small bottle because the water fountain adjacent to gate E8 was broken (and has been broken for quite a while). I would like to know what O'Hare airport authorities are doing about this. I am all for a market economy etc. but this is too much to pay for water! A little bit of oversight by the airport authorities would be welcome and much appreciated by travelers.

MUC-ORD-CVG. I had a satisfactory experience in ORD. From landing of the aircraft (Lufthansa) to arrival at the nice Red Carpet Lounge of United (comfy new and well equipped) in terminal 2 took me only 50 minutes. The Terminal where we arrived was relatively new yes the way from the plane to immigrations was awfully long but still shorter than in Shanghai. Immigration was efficient even if it was rush hour it took me only 15 minutes to go through. Took train to terminal 2 and after a couple of minutes I was airside. I have no complaints will consider flying through Chicago again.

MAD-ORD with Iberia. If possible avoid Chicago airport. immigration lines for non American are simply endless and when you finally exit you will find no indication about baggage claim belt. On the contrary it is likely to find airport staff gathering suitcases in some corner or even worse taking suitcases to "somewhere". My baggage was completely unattended pretty far from the belt and I did not find my second baggage until 6 days later completely destroyed. Dirty old style and feeling guilty just for asking "Where is the Madrid baggage?" is the welcome words you will find if arriving to ORD Chicago O Hare

Chicago Airport may not be the most favoured hub to pass through although it's somewhat unavoidable since both United & American (both Heathrow customers...) hub there. T5 is interesting. Disembarking tired jetlagged passengers into a grey walled low-ceiling walkway is not the ideal way to say "hey welcome to the united states". Immigration has queues no matter what although our queuing only lasted 10 minutes. Cheerful customs greeted us with a smile which was nice after baggage claim and we dropped our bags at the United baggage transfer facility at T5. The train is harmless although initially from T5 can b a little full. T1 security is somewhat threatening. A women who sticks her hand vaguely in your direction and yelps passports (on a domestic flight) is hardly inviting and then she scribbles the gate number on our boarding cards ... it's sort of pointless... I transferred through Chicago 3 times in less than 3 weeks. The bus to E & F (United Express) gates from C (United) gates is small and not wheelchair accessable. It's a minbus with benches all facing inwards. The main C Councourse is rather attractive; it allows plenty of natural light in and allows good views of the tarmac.

Arrived mid afternoon at T5 with other aircraft. The foreigner lines at immigration were extremely long but authorities did their best to open resident gates when not in use and move overflow to other sections to reduce the delay. Took an hour to get through which considering the crowd was not too bad. INS agent polite and welcoming. Baggage already available and customs inspection minimal. United's baggage transfer can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated but mine has always turned up at my final destination so there must be a system operating. Train to Terminal 2 was quick and painless. Security here quick and efficient. Bad weather earlier in the day had caused considerable flight back up and eventual cancellations. Terminals were extremely crowded with many angry and frustrated passengers. Our United agent handled our rebooking with good grace. Next morning's checkin was a long and a little frustrating with late arriving passengers with imminent departures getting preference over those who did the right thing and turned up for their flights early. Departure gates in T2 were very crowded and obviously flights had been overbooked with constant requests for passengers with time on their hands to give up their seats for the normal compensations. Not the best airport experience but certainly not the worst.

The airport facilities have not been re-arranged to take into account "security" requirements although 9-11 is several years behind us. Example: Post-office access (Terminal 2 only) is behind the security gates. Airports everywhere need to move general-use sites out of the departing-passenger-only zones; perhaps O'Hare will bear this in mind when a re-build is contemplated (and shabby as Terminals 3 and 5 are one is needed soon).

When changing airlines through ORD the place can be a nightmare. My flight was Alaska Airlines ANC-ORD and United Xpress ORD-CAE. United and Alaska terminals are very far apart at ORD so you have to cross the street use the train to the very last terminal pick up your ticket go through security and walk down about 20 minutes to finally get to the xpress gates which is normally at the end of the United terminal. No moving sidewalk to help out. Should you find yourself changing airlines at ORD get your ticket from ORD to destination at the airport of origin. (In my case get my Alaska Airlines ticket then go to United/Canada and get the ORD-CAE ticket.) Otherwise you could be waiting in line at the ticket counter for a very long time. You will be in the same situation if you are flying to smaller airports in the northeast or southeast USA.

I fly Internationally out of Terminal 5 at least 5 times a year and am always amazed at how bad the facilities are at International Departures. Hardly anywhere to sit - just fast food "restaurants" no shops to speak of. This is a golden opportunity missed! International travelers have to spend at least 2 hours in this terminal with nothing decent to eat and no stores to roam around - not even enough room to sit and wait comfortably. Once through security there is nothing at all!! The other terminals where you only have to wait 1 hour have plenty of amenities. Also bear in mind that lots of Indians and Pakistani families live in the Chicago area and when they leave the country the whole family is there to see them off so terribly overcrowded!

I had my first travelling experience through O'Hare over the busy Christmas period. I have used Midway before and avoid O'Hare because of things people told me about it. I found O'Hare pleasant place - I landed at terminal 5 on American Airlines didn't have to do immigration as it was done in Dublin. After collecting my bags clearing customs and rechecking was out in 20 mins and in terminal 3 for my flight to Toronto 5 mins later. Nice selection of shops bars and places to eat. Fast train service between terminals.