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Air O'Hare International Airport (ORD) Tel: (773) 686 2200. Website: www.ohare.com/ohare O'Hare is the major international airport for Chicago, being only 27km (17 miles) northwest of the downtown area. The airport is also the second busiest in the world, carrying over 72 million passengers per year. Major airlines: O'Hare is the headquarters of United Airlines (tel: (800) 241 6522, toll free in the USA and Canada), which flies from terminal one. All the major international carriers fly here, using the international terminal five (except Lufthansa and all Canadian flights, which also use terminal one). Other airlines include: Aer Lingus, Aerofolt, Air France, Alitalia, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Japan Airlines, KLM, Korean Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Mexicana, Northwest Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Sabena, SAS, SwissAir, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Airport facilities: ATMs are available in all terminals and handle most international cards. Permanent bureau de change facilities are located in Terminals 3 and 5 and there are mobile bureau de change counters at all gates used for international flights. There 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: The Skybird Conference Centre (tel: (773) 686 6101) in terminal three provides telephone, fax, computer facilities, data lines, meeting rooms, video-conferencing, secretarial support and catering. Laptop Lane (tel: (773) 894 3100; website: www.laptoplane.com) in terminal one offers workstations for travellers. Mail Boxes Etc (tel: (773) 894 4203) in terminal three provides computer rental, fax, photocopying and other services. The Hilton Business Center (tel: (773) 601 1743), located in the Hilton Hotel at terminal two, offers full business services. Transport to the city: The Chicago Transport Authority (CTA; tel: (312) 836 7000 or 4949; website: www.transitchicago.com) Blue Line trains are the quickest and cheapest way into central Chicago. The service operates 24 hours, leaving every ten minutes, and costs US$1.50 (journey time - 40 minutes). However, the station is a long walk from the flight terminals and the train can be difficult to navigate with more than light luggage. Airport Express (tel: (312) 454 7800) operates a shuttle minibus service 0600-2330 to central Chicago, at around US$16 per person. Omega (tel: (773) 483 6634) offers a similar service 0700-2345, which also starts from Hyde Park from 0500. Taxis are available for US$30-35 per person or around US$20 for the Share-a-Ride scheme. Midway Airport (MDW) Tel: (773) 767 0500. Website: www.ohare.com/midway This airport, 18km (11 miles) southwest of downtown Chicago, is used by domestic airlines and carries around 13 million passengers per year. It is worth checking whether one of the following domestic airlines that are also international carriers has cheaper flights to this airport than to O'Hare. Major airlines: These include: America West, American Airlines, Continental, NorthWest, SouthWest, US Airways and Vanguard. Airport facilities: These are include ATMs, cafÉs, bars, newstands and car hire from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and National. Business facilities: There is no business centre at the moment, but current development work will include building one. Transport to the city: The CTA Orange Line train goes to the city centre and costs US$1.50 (journey time - 20-25 minutes). Taxis to the centre will cost around US$20-25, with Share-a-Ride being around US$15. 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 25 minutes. Arrival/departure tax: Arrival tax US$38.50; departure tax US$15; included in ticket. |