Manchester - Vegas via Chicago with American Airlines

We flew on 2 November at 10.30am from Manchester, arriving in Chicago terminal 5 at 1.00pm, with a 3.05pm connection to Las Vegas from T3.

Despite worries about the short connection time arising from a previous post, things for us could not have gone more smoothly. We cleared immigration, customs, re-checked bags, travelled to T3 and cleared security in about 45 minutes. The queues at immigration were not too long; it seemed this was the only flight arriving at that time. The officials opened more desks so what queue there was moved very fast. There was a couple just behind us who had an even tighter connection, and when they mentioned this to an official, they were moved to the front.

Ironically, we were pushed for time on the return flight - we should have had 2 hours between flights, same terminal at Chicago, no baggage collection or security etc, but a thunderstorm prevented the Vegas flight from landing, for about an hour and a half we were just circling, then we had to wait on the tarmac due to lightening strikes etc. We had to jog to that connection, but the fear of missing a plane is a lot less on the way home lol!

I hope this is helpful to anyone taking these flights, any questions, let me know.

A full trip report is buzzing around in my head, I hope to get it typed up soon!

Yorkie.

Manchester - Vegas via Chicago with American Airlines

Hey Yorkie,

2 hours between flights is ALONG time..........I do nearly all my travelling on AA as I collect airmiles, etc and love the leg room back in coach!

Anyway - last May on a flight from London to LA I had to get a connection and I only had 49 minutes in airport - 49 minutes!!!! My wife and me were nervous but AA said 49 minutes was about the minimum and as long as the computer accepted it, then it would be ok...............we got off plane and were on a the next one 2 minutes later (2 gates down) - when we walked up to the gate she said %26#39;Hi, Mr ____%26#39; - she was expecting us which was pretty cool - I presume that means they do actually communicate :)

As for your flights.............i know what you mean - who cares if the flight is late coming home, a chance to miss work the next day ay!!!

Manchester - Vegas via Chicago with American Airlines

Glad you made both flights. Thank you for reminding travelers to prepare for unexpected delays while traveling. Looking forward to your report.

Hi Nick

I know NOW that 2 hours is a long time!! A week or so before we went, someone posted about problems they%26#39;d had with a similar connection time with BMI/United. Also, we had heard horror stories about huge queues in immigration and at security. Just wanted to let any other people with concerns that it was do-able.

Yorkie

Hey again Yorkie,

Yeh, good idea warning people :)

I personally dont think AA should book with a 49 min connection as if anything goes wrong, even a 20 min delay leaving UK and you will miss the connection............worked out ok anyway but we were SO nervous before landing.

I was one of the guys who warned about the connetion flight times.

However this was during the heightend security alerts.

It appears to be ok now since the checks are not as fierce.

Thanks for the info

You were lucky!! The last time my UK citizen/resident had to connect at O%26#39;Hare, the queue for the non US citizen/residents at Immigration took over an hour to clear! That%26#39;s the tricky part in Chicago, if more than one flight comes in around the same time the queues are long and it takes the baggage handlers forever to get the luggage down the chutes! I%26#39;ve missed connections many a time when I%26#39;ve thought I would have more than enough time!

This is why I always fly direct with Virgin, it might cost a bit extra £%26#39;s but surely worth it!!

Agree with last poster always fly direct whenever possible,even if dearer.

Thank you for giving me hope, we%26#39;re making the self same connection on Monday! :D

It would have cost us over £400 more to fly direct with BMI from Manchester, also they don%26#39;t fly on the days we wanted to go and return. To get to Gatwick for the Virgin flight would have been a supreme pain as we cannot fly there from Leeds-Bradford (4 miles from our house), so would still have had the trek to Manchester for a connecting flight, or a 4 and a half hour drive beforehand and afterwards for that matter! I used to live in Essex and really miss the proximity of Gatwick and Heathrow now that I live ';up north';.

The flights turned out fine in the end, I was posting this to ease the minds of other TA members who were also concerned about this particular connection. MikeGray, I hope your connection is as smooth as ours was, and that you have a wonderful time!

Yorkie.