A Brief Opportunity to Watch Planes at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport

American Airlines B-787-8

Sometimes the thought of a five-hour layover at an airport is met with dread… lines of passengers, noise, boredom, and many other detractions. Due to rain showers and heat indexes over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I skipped my last day at the EAA’s AirVenture this year, and drove south to Chicago earlier than planned, to catch my flight home to New Hampshire. I got to O’Hare about five hours before my 6:30PM flight, checked in and transferred my luggage, and went through security. I thought a Friday afternoon would be crowded, but I was rather surprised that early afternoon wasn’t too bad at all. I found my gate and had almost a full four-hour window to watch airliners coming and going from Terminal H another adjacent fingers. 

All Nippon Airways B-777-300ER

There was no boredom this trip, as O’Hare (ORD) is the fourth busiest airport in the world, with hubs for both American Airlines and United Airlines, as well as a major international destination from Europe and Asia. 

Air Wisconsin CRJ-200 in throwback colors.

Regional airlines serving both of these U.S. major airlines wore their mainline color schemes, with just a few special liveries. A few mainline special liveries appeared too. Being in Terminal H allowed me to switch between a few windows to see taxiing traffic when a specific gate was occupied and blocking my view. Putting the lens sunshade up to the window allowed me to cut out any glare from adjacent windows as well. All of a sudden, I had a lot of photography to do. And, about three and a half hours to do it.

Air Belgium A-330-900

By mid-afternoon, most of the international traffic from Europe had landed. One Airbus that caught my eye as an Air Belgium A-330-900 in bright colors. Another was a Lufthansa A-350-900. Big Boeings included a KLM B-787-10 and a multitude of American and United B787s of three main variants. 

United Airlines B-757-200 in special livery.

As far as domestic airliners, it was good to see a few United Airlines B-757-300 versions, and American using a B–737 MAX8.

Denver Air Connection ERJ-145

Below is a small part of the photos which I took that afternoon.  You can hover over a photo to see the airline and type information, and click for an enlargement.