2 hour turnaround in chicago

Snoopy1

Ive been to Chicago before, but now i'm looking at flights with a 2 hour stopover. Is this enough time to change flights?
Also id book whole thing with aer lingus, but the second half of the trip is operated by united airlines.Im assuming that my luggage would go straight through etc

Ruu

Yes, should be enough time. If all on one ticket, then everything should be taken care of and no need to recheck, just head to your gate for since you should be airside.

Snoopy1

Thanks very much.

aaronm13

Not necessarily. 2 hours in OHare is very tight as you've to change terminals and go back through security. Aer Lingus come in at T5 them you've to change to United in T1 if memory serves. Security in OHare is the worst.

Snoopy1

There is another route of going via san francisco with a 2 hour turnaround. Would that be better?

ProudDUB

Snoopy1 wrote: »

There is another route of going via san francisco with a 2 hour turnaround. Would that be better?

Is it still with Aer Lingus and would you still pre clear customs and immigration in Dublin? Yes, if you would. No, if you wouldn't.

Snoopy1

ProudDUB wrote: »

Is it still with Aer Lingus and would you still pre clear customs and immigration in Dublin? Yes, if you would. No, if you wouldn't.

Yes aer lingus to San Francisco then United to seattle. All in same ticket and doing immigration in Dublin

ProudDUB

Ok, you'll still have to go thru another security check point, but SF doesn't have the terrible reputation for that that O'Hare does. Nor is it as bad for the kind of delays that could hold up your arrival on the inbound leg. It's still very tight though. Are there no other later flights to Seattle that you could take?

Snoopy1

Anything that gives me a longer turn around is more expensive and gets me into seattle very late

Yggr of Asgard

As you are treated as domestic passenger when arriving all you need to do is to walk to the ATS people mover and take the train over to T1 where you have to participate in the TSA security theater and walk to your gate.

If there are no flight delays and you can walk at a reasonable pace than you should be fine as you are over the Minimum connection time for ORD.

I have connected several times in ORD with that connection time and never had a problem.

However if you are delayed and fear you can't make it in time to T1 you might want to speak to United in T5 about changing your flight. Don't make your way over to T1, have them help you in T5 in that case.

aaronm13

Have you looked into flying direct to Seattle with BA, might be an option for you. My mother in law goes to Seattle a bit and has connected both through Heathrow and SFO with Aer Lingus and she much preferred the BA option.

Snoopy1

Yea I'm considering the Heathrow option, ive always liked doing the immigration in Ireland though.

I'd be coming back from a different city to seattle so I'll have to see if I can do that route via Heathrow from portland

iusedtoknow

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Yea I'm considering the Heathrow option, ive always liked doing the immigration in Ireland though.

TBH, it takes the same amount of time as doing it in the US, but you have the hassle of all the extra security + time wasted at DUB just standing in lines.

I've done immigration in Dublin 3 or 4 times and it wasn't worth the hassle. I go through immigration in the US 10 times a year and am never waiting anything beyond 30 minutes.

InTheTrees

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Yea I'm considering the Heathrow option, ive always liked doing the immigration in Ireland though.

I'd be coming back from a different city to seattle so I'll have to see if I can do that route via Heathrow from portland

I regularly take United from Shannon to Newark to Seattle. nice and easy. And if you ask for a stopover of more than about four hours there's time to get in to Manhatten.

circular flexing

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Yea I'm considering the Heathrow option, ive always liked doing the immigration in Ireland though.

I'd be coming back from a different city to seattle so I'll have to see if I can do that route via Heathrow from portland

You can do PDX -> SEA -> LHR no problems. The codeshare is with Alaska Airlines.

THEZAPPA

I'm actually only back from doing dub > SFO > Sea and same coming back with aer lingus and United.
The two hours is plenty of time. You can walk through the airport from the international terminal to terminal 3 in about 10 minutes with no need to go through security again (just follow the signs). You do pre clearance here also. Just to note those flights have great on time rates also and most the time the flight from Dublin to San Fran is early.

I fly to Seattle 4 times a year and it's by far my favorite route.

Chicago stopover never has enough time. I have missed a flight.
London you have to redo security and it can be a bit stressful on an already long journey.
Atlanta can get a lot of delays with thunderstorms.

Snoopy1

Thanks Guys
Im waiting till the new year, when i have some money and hopefully aer lingus has a sale, then i will book something.

Has anyone been to seattle or Portland, any reccomendations?

Jawgap

Snoopy1 wrote: »

There is another route of going via san francisco with a 2 hour turnaround. Would that be better?

Definitely.

O'Hare is a disaster of an airport, I'd be sweatin' if I had a 2 hour layover there, especially as you are going to have to change terminals.

SFO is a much nicer airport and easier to move around.

Uno my Uno.

Jawgap wrote: »

Definitely.

O'Hare is a disaster of an airport, I'd be sweatin' if I had a 2 hour layover there, especially as you are going to have to change terminals.

SFO is a much nicer airport and easier to move around.

Agree, have done the 2 hour transfer in O'Hare on several occasion, it is tight and always stressful. I usually end up running, in my socks on one occasion.

Snoopy1

so i re looked at the flights. On the way out there is a 4 hour stopover in San francisco, and on the way back 2 hours 30 minutes in san francisco, which everyone thinks is fine.
So im just waiting to see if there is a sale in January, then i will book.

Just one question, on the way back the flight from Portland is operated by united airlines, then aer lingus from san francisco to dublin. If i have 2 suitcases coming back do i have to pay the extra fee twice, one to united and one to aer lingus?

Thanks for you help everyone

Snoopy1

So aer lingus mucked me around a bit and I ended up booking with United Airlines. The only way to do it was via Chicago (which I didn't want to do), turn around is 3 hours 55 minutes which I hope is enough

Edit all flights are with United, so I'm assuming no terminal change?

spideog7

You're better off, Aer Lingus haven't integrated their system with any of their code share partners and its a mess trying to choose your seats and get your boarding passes. Not the worth the hassle.

No guarantee that it'll be the same terminal, I think O'Hare still has a dedicated terminal for international arrivals. Can't say for sure though I avoid Chicago if possible.

ProudDUB

Yep. O'Neal has an international terminal. That's the one you'll fly into & out of, on the Ireland flights. 3 hrs 55 mins is plenty of time.

Snoopy1

I rang aer lingus to try sort out problem and the staff recommended I book with another airline!!

So I really hope that the 3 hours 55 minutes is enough.
On the way back I've a 6 hour turn around in Washington which is a bit of a pain

aaronm13

Snoopy1 wrote: »

I rang aer lingus to try sort out problem and the staff recommended I book with another airline!!

So I really hope that the 3 hours 55 minutes is enough.
On the way back I've a 6 hour turn around in Washington which is a bit of a pain

3 hours 55 minutes is fine. Not sure about the terminal situation as Terminal 1 is Uniteds terminal. If you fly American you arrive at T3 not the international terminal T5 so maybe United will fly into their own terminal too. Either way your good time wise.

Snoopy1

Thanks
The Chicago part is really worrying me

ProudDUB

Stop worrying. You have loads of time.

InTheTrees

I fly united from Seattle to Ireland at least once a year.

Stopping in San Fransisco? Its south of Seattle and only about an hours flight from Seattle anyway so there no reason at all to be stopping off there.

Snoopy1

InTheTrees wrote: »

I fly united from Seattle to Ireland at least once a year.

Stopping in San Fransisco? Its south of Seattle and only about an hours flight from Seattle anyway so there no reason at all to be stopping off there.

The problem was I was flying into seattle bur flying back from portland and I wanted to go via San Francisco. Aer lingus could not cope with the different airports and I had to book with United which were cheaper and could cope with the changes in airports but only through Chicago
It's booked now, can't change my mind

aaronm13

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Thanks
The Chicago part is really worrying me

Seriously, 4 hours in O'Hare is plenty of time even if you have to change terminals. Getting from T5 to T1 only takes a few minutes by AirTrain and is really well sign posted. Relax and look forward to your trip. Have a great time.

FatherTed

I've connected there many times on business travel, you'll have no problems.

Berserker

aaronm13 wrote: »

Not necessarily. 2 hours in OHare is very tight as you've to change terminals and go back through security. Aer Lingus come in at T5 them you've to change to United in T1 if memory serves. Security in OHare is the worst.

Which terminals? I have flown there with Aer Lingus and changed to United with no issue. Two hours is plenty of time. If you don't have to collect bags, it'll take 30 minutes or so, from my experience.

Uno my Uno.

Berserker wrote: »

Which terminals? I have flown there with Aer Lingus and changed to United with no issue. Two hours is plenty of time. If you don't have to collect bags, it'll take 30 minutes or so, from my experience.

It takes longer than 30 minutes to change terminals to or from T5, it's a big airport. I did it in an hour once and only made it by sprinting and bring moved through the queue by TSA.

ArnoldJRimmer

You can make it from T5 to T1 in 20 minutes if you know where you're going. The length of time taken to get through security is very unpredictable though. Personally, the longest I've been queuing is 45 mins, but for US domestic flights its typically been 15-20 mins.

Anyway, landing in T5
- Exit plane, take a right and walk towards baggage area
- take escalator down, bypass baggage area and go to around center of terminal (follow signs for ATS, Airport transit System).
- there should be a lift on your left that will take you up towards train
- go on train heading for Terminal 1, its the last stop, but should only take 5 mins once you've boarded
- Cross directly into departures

Best of luck