World City Guide

Getting There By Air

O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
Tel: (800) 832 6352 or (773) 686 2200.
Website: www.ohare.com

O’Hare is the major international airport for Chicago, being only 27km (17 miles) northwest of the Downtown area. The world’s busiest airport carries over 69 million passengers per year.

Major airlines: O’Hare is the headquarters of United Airlines (tel: (800) 241 6522), which flies mainly from terminal one. Most major international carriers use Terminal Five, but Air Canada uses Terminal Two, and for departures only Lufthansa uses Terminal One, and Air Jamaica and Iberia use Terminal Three. Other airlines utilising O’Hare include: Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air France, Air India, Alitalia, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Aviasco, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, British Midland, Continental, Delta, El Al, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Lot Polish Airlines, Mexicana, Northwest Airlines, Pakistan International, Royal Jordanian, Ryanair, SAS, Spirit, TACA, TWA, Turkish Airlines USA 3000 and US Airways.

Airport facilities: Permanent bureau de change facilities and ATMs are available in all terminals and the latter take most international cards. Also located in each terminal are a variety of restaurants, bars, fast food outlets and shops, as well as car hire from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and National.

Business facilities: Laptop Lane (tel: (773) 894 3100; website: www.laptoplane.com ), located in Terminal One, offers workstations for travellers. The Hilton Business Center (tel: (773) 601 1743), located in the Hilton Hotel in Terminal Two, offers full business services.

Transport to the city: The Chicago Transport Authority – CTA (tel: (888) YOUR CTA (968 7282); website: www.transitchicago.com ) and RTA (tel: (312) 836 7000; website: www.rta.com ) are the major hubs of public transportation to and from the airport. Blue Line trains are the quickest and cheapest way into central Chicago. The service operates 24 hours, leaves every 10 minutes and costs US$1.50 (journey time – 45 minutes). 'TRAINS TO CITY' signs will guide you to the station. If you are travelling with anything more than light luggage, note that the walk from the flight terminals to the trains is a long one.

Continental Airport Express (tel: (312) 454 7800 or (888) 284 3826; website: www.airportexpress.com ) operates a shuttle minibus service 0600-2330 to central Chicago, and to the northern suburban locations US$21.00 per person or US$16 each for two people sharing the coach (journey time – 45 minutes). Omega (tel: (773) 483 6634; website: www.omegashuttle.com ) offers an hourly service 0700-2345, between O’Hare and Midway Airports (US$15), and also departs from Hyde Park (near the University of Chicago) from 0500 (journey time – 45 minutes). Taxis are available for US$25-35 per person and for Share-a-Ride, sharing a cab with a stranger, the fare would be one-half. Expect to tip the driver about 10-15%.

Midway Airport (MDW)
Tel: (773) 838 0600.
Website: www.chicago-mdw.com or www.ohare.com (click on ‘Midway’).

This airport, 18km (11 miles) southwest of Downtown Chicago, is used by domestic and discount airlines and carries around 13 million passengers per year.

Major airlines: These include: Access Air, Air Tran, American Trans Air, America West, American Airlines, Chicago Express, ComAir, Continental, Delta, Frontier, National, NorthWest, Ozark, SouthWest, US Airways and Vanguard.

Airport facilities: ATMs, cafés, bars, newspaper stands and car hire from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty.

Business facilities: There is no business centre.
Transport to the city: The CTA (tel: (888) YOUR CTA (968 7282) website: www.transitchicago.com ) and RTA (tel: (312) 836 7000; www.rta.com ) are the major hubs of public transportation to and from the airport. The Orange Line train goes to the city centre 0435-2320 and costs US$1.50 (journey time – 20-25 minutes). Continental Airport Express (tel: (312) 454 7800 or (888) 284 3826, website: www.airportexpress.com ) operates a shuttle minibus service 0600-2330 to central Chicago and to northern suburban locations, US$16 per person, or, for two people travelling together, the fee is US$12 each (journey time – 45 minutes). Omega (tel: (773) 483 6634; website: www.omegashuttle.com ) offers an hourly service 0700-2345, between O’Hare and Midway Airports. Taxis to the centre will cost around US$25-40, depending on the traffic, and from the South Side US$15. Share-a-Ride costs approximately half the fare (journey time – 30 minutes).

Approximate flight times to Chicago: From London is 8 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 2 hours 15 minutes; from Los Angeles is 4 hours; from Toronto is 1 hour 45 minutes and from Sydney is 13 hours 30 minutes.

Arrival/departure tax: All airport taxes are included in the cost of the ticket.

Various: up-to-date arrival and departure information for both Chicago airports can be found on www.flychicago.com