Business Class from Chicago (ORD): deals, routes and trip guide
Photo by Rohan Gangopadhyay on Unsplash
Business class from Chicago (ORD)
Eight runways, four terminals and about 150 daily international departures: O'Hare is United's largest hub, the second home of American Airlines, and the airport where Terminal 5 takes the foreign carriers.
Everywhere you can fly from Chicago
Premium carriers from Chicago
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Where business class from Chicago is cheapest
Ranked by how far the best fare we've found sits below each route's usual business-class price. Carriers are the ones actually operating each route. Tap any route to search live fares.
| Destination | Typical | Best seen | Saving | Cheapest | Flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico City ORD–MEX · ~3.7h | $5,528 | $651seen 27d ago | −70% | Sep | Aeromexico |
| Santiago de Chile ORD–SCL · ~10.7h · the deal | $13,041 | $1,740seen 4d ago | −70% | Oct |  Avianca |
| Cancun ORD–CUN · ~3.3h | $3,050 | $782seen 29d ago | −70% | Sep |  United |
| Sao Paulo ORD–GRU · ~10.5h · the deal | $9,293 | $2,431seen 9d ago | −70% | Oct | Avianca |
| Buenos Aires ORD–EZE · ~11.3h | $7,714 | $2,389seen 14d ago | −69% | Oct | Avianca |
| Boston ORD–BOS · ~2.2h · the deal | $1,612 | $517seen 23d ago | −68% | Oct | United |
| Calgary ORD–YYC · ~3.1h | $2,878 | $986seen 13d ago | −66% | Oct | United |
| Rome ORD–FCO · ~9.7h | $7,503 | $2,945seen 21d ago | −61% | Oct | Air Serbia |
| Istanbul ORD–IST · ~11h | $6,640 | $2,826seen 21d ago | −57% | Oct | Air Serbia |
| London ORD–LGW · ~8.1h | $6,157 | $2,730seen 5w ago | −56% | Nov |  Icelandair |
| London ORD–LHR · ~8.1h | $6,156 | $3,012seen 6w ago | −51% | Oct | Icelandair |
| Honolulu ORD–HNL · ~8.6h | $3,839 | $1,895seen 22d ago | −51% | Sep |  Delta |
Showing 12 of 306 destinations tracked from Chicago. Rows marked live price show the current lowest business fare we found on that route (searched weekly), not a tracked deal.
About Chicago
O'Hare works as two hubs sharing a field. United flies long-haul out of Terminal 1 and the oneworld side does the same from Terminal 3, which is home to American Airlines. Between them and the foreign flags in Terminal 5, the airport posts roughly 150 daily departures to 69 international destinations, from London, Paris, Frankfurt and Rome to Doha, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Addis Ababa and Sao Paulo.
Terminal 1's Concourse C holds the United Polaris Lounge at gate C18, with United Clubs at B6, B18 and C10 and two more in Terminal 2. Terminal 3 has the Flagship Lounge between the H and K concourses and Admirals Clubs shared with Japan Airlines and Iberia. Terminal 5 carries the Air France, Delta, LOT, Swissport and Wingtips lounges, the last three clustered around gates M17 to M19.
Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are joined behind security, so a connection between them is a signposted walk rather than a ride. Terminal 5 is the exception. A secure Terminal Transfer Bus links it to Terminals 1 and 3 every fifteen minutes between 11.30am and 9.30pm, and outside those hours the connection means leaving the secure area, riding the Airport Transit System people mover and being screened a second time.
Chicago is a city you read from the water and from the street grid. The architecture cruise on the river is the honest introduction; the Art Institute and the Field Museum hold the collections; Millennium Park, the lakefront path and Wrigley Field carry the summer. Deep-dish gets the postcards, but the neighbourhood eating in Pilsen, Bridgeport, Devon Avenue and Uptown is the better argument for staying.
Best time to visit
Late May to June and September to October: warm days, the lakefront and the festival calendar in full use, and neither the humidity of midsummer nor the wind and snow that run from December to March.
Photo by Rihards Sergis on Unsplash
| Chicago at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Airport | ORD, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, operated by the Chicago Department of Aviation. |
| Terminals | Four in use: Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which connect behind security, and Terminal 5, which does not. There is no Terminal 4. The O'Hare 21 rebuild adds two satellite concourses, targeted for 2029, and a Global Terminal replacing Terminal 2 between 2029 and 2033. |
| Distance to centre | About 27 km (17 miles) northwest of the Loop, which is 30 to 60 minutes by road and roughly 45 minutes on the train. |
| Airport rail link | CTA Blue Line, from a station on the lower level of the main parking garage, running 24 hours a day to the Loop in about 45 minutes. The fare leaving O'Hare is $5.00; every other station on the network charges $2.50. |
| Taxi / rideshare | Metered taxis from the stands on the lower-level curb outside baggage claim; the airport puts the average fare to downtown at about $50, with the drive taking 30 to 60 minutes. Rideshare pickup is on the upper level at Terminals 2 and 3, black-car pickup on the lower level at every terminal. |
| Timezone | Central Time: UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 on daylight saving, which runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD). |
| Language | English. Spanish is widely spoken across the city, and Chicago has large Polish, Chinese and Arabic-speaking communities. |
| Best months | Late May to June and September to October: warm days, the lakefront and the festival calendar in full use, and neither the humidity of midsummer nor the wind and snow that run from December to March. |
| Entry requirements | Two tracks. Nationals of the roughly forty Visa Waiver Program countries apply online for an ESTA at esta.cbp.dhs.gov, which costs about $40, covers stays of up to 90 days and lasts two years or until the passport expires. Everyone else applies for a visitor visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Official guidance sits at travel.state.gov. |
| Long-haul network | Nonstop from O'Hare: Europe in 8 to 10 hours on United, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Swiss, Austrian, Iberia, ITA Airways, TAP, SAS, Finnair, Aer Lingus, LOT and American Airlines. The Gulf in about 13 to 14 hours on Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. Tokyo in about 13 hours on United, Japan Airlines and All Nippon. Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong in 14 to 16 hours on Korean Air, EVA Air and Cathay Pacific. Addis Ababa in about 15 hours on Ethiopian, Cairo on EgyptAir, Sao Paulo in about 10 hours on United. No nonstop service to Australia, mainland China or India. |
| Power | Type A and Type B sockets, 120 volts at 60 Hz. |
Compiled from the Chicago Department of Aviation's flychicago.com pages for O'Hare terminals, transfers, taxis and lounges, plus its published nonstop destination lists dated 1 July 2026; the Chicago Transit Authority fare table; U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of State for entry rules; and the carriers' own route pages.
Plan your trip to Chicago
The bits people ask us about once the flight's booked, vetted and in one place.
Where to stay
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Things to do
Top-rated Chicago experiences, or browse them all on Klook.
Skydeck Chicago Entry TicketBook on Klook →Photo by David Berkowitz from New York, NY, USA on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).jpg?width=700)
The Art Institute of Chicago TicketBook on Klook →Photo by ajay_suresh on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
360 Chicago Observation Deck TicketBook on Klook →Photo by GualdimG on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Sort out the rest
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Common questions
How do you get from O'Hare to downtown Chicago?
The CTA Blue Line runs 24 hours a day from a station on the lower level of the main parking garage and reaches the Loop in about 45 minutes; the fare leaving O'Hare is $5.00 rather than the $2.50 charged at other stations. Taxis wait at the lower-level stands outside baggage claim, take 30 to 60 minutes and average about $50 to downtown.
Which terminal handles international flights at O'Hare?
Terminal 5 takes most foreign carriers and every international arrival that has not been precleared, so passengers walk from the gate straight into the Customs and Border Protection hall there. Flights precleared in Canada, Ireland or the Caribbean are handled as domestic ones and may come into Terminals 1, 2 or 3. Long-haul departures also leave Terminals 1 and 3.
How much time should a connection at O'Hare allow?
Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are joined behind security, so switching between them is a signposted walk. Terminal 5 is the exception. A secure Terminal Transfer Bus links it to Terminals 1 and 3 every fifteen minutes, but only between 11.30am and 9.30pm; at other times you exit, ride the Airport Transit System and clear screening again. Leave real slack.
When is the best time to visit Chicago?
Late May to June and September to October are the reliable windows: mild days, the lakefront open, the festival season running, and the heavy humidity of midsummer either behind or ahead of you. Winter runs cold and windy from December to March, with lake-effect snow off Lake Michigan, though hotel rates soften and the museums go quiet.
Get Chicago deal alerts
Terminal 5 has no walkway to the other terminals behind security. The secure Terminal Transfer Bus runs only between 11.30am and 9.30pm; outside those hours a connection through Terminal 5 means clearing screening twice.
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Photography via Unsplash: Rohan Gangopadhyay, Rihards Sergis, Richard Tao, Kim Tiu, Johnell Pannell, Alex Azabache, Gautam Krishnan, Heather Maguire, Taylor Friehl, Acool rocket.