American Airlines has surprised us by changing not only the flight #'s, but the departure time of a flight we have secheduled to St. Lucia in November. Our commuter flight on Amerian Eagle now puts us in to Ohare with only 46 minutesto make the connection. Travelers who are experienced with Ohare please tell me- Is this doable? How far is it from the area where the Eagle will land to the concourse for the regular flights? Do we take a shuttle or walk (in this case run!) Will the increased security measures make this impossible? If we catch the flight will our luggage? Thanks for your help, any input will be appreciated at this time. If we need to make new arrangements I must do so soon.

In normal times, this would be a tight connection and you would need luck on your side. Now, quite dicey. If you don't mind the outcome if you miss your flight, keep your current plans. Just be aware that American has canceled lots of flights and depending on your dates of travel it may be difficult to replace a missed flight with an attractive alternative. I would rebook now while you have a chance.

Let us know, if you try re-booking, how successful you are. I tried to do the same with AA/American Eagle because I was concerned that a 50 minute connection in Miami on my way to the Abacos was too tight, and the ticket agent kept insisting that it was no problem and would not re-book us.

This is doable. You won't have to go to the check in counter to check your baggage, neither will you have go through the security gate. When you deplane you will already be in the area of the airport past the security checkpoint so you won't have to wait in those lines either. You should not be effected by the extra measures and hassle. As American Eagle is owned by american, your luggage will already be checked through and I think but am not positive you will get your seat assignments for both legs of the trip when you check in with American Eagle at the beginning. The only problem I see is not the extra security but the sheer size of O'Hare airport. I have not flown American Eagle into O'Hare (my home airport) but as a commuter carrier I assume they don't arrive at one of the major concourses which is where you will take off from. You need to find out what concourse and terminal you be arriving in (there are 5) and which one you will be departing from. Some caribbean flights take off from the international terminal (5) which is further away but most do not. Aas an aside about the length of security and check in lines at O'Hare it has been been varying based on your flight time with Monday morning and Sunday afternoons being crazy while weekdays there has been little or no line.

One question....will this be your first point into the U.S from the Caribbean or are you connecting from St. Lucia to Miami and then onto Chicago? <BR>If Chicago is your first U.S. airport to arrive at you have to go through customs and 46 minutes will not be enough time. If you have been through customs in Miami or some other U.S. airport then you should be fine. <BR>I was just in St. Lucia in August and stayed at Sandals Halcyon. I loved it! What a beautiful island and the people are shy but given a chance very friendly.

You can find out which gates your 2 flights will be at by going to American Airlines website (www.aa.com) and clicking on Gates and Times.

The person who asked the question is GOING to st. Lucia and connecting through O'Hare, not returning. I agree if returning, you must clear customs and 45 min will not be enough but traveling to the Caribbean you should have no problem!

Most Eagle flights are in the G concourse of Terminal 3 at ORD. You shouldn't have to leave the secure area to get to your other flight, which is most likely leaving from the H or K concourse, but you may still be subject to a random security check even at the gate. Also, they are quite strict now about closing the door 10 min before scheduled departure. If your incoming flight is a tad late, you have to go from G20 to K17, you're going to have to run fast to make your flight. There is no shuttle and no moving walkway. A courtesy cart would be an option, but they do not always arrive on time and can get bogged down if the airport is crowded. Bags are always hit or miss.

John is correct that you can find the gate and time info on AA's web site, but be cautioned that gates can change (and often do) until the plane is parked. This information is also only given for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Here's the rest of the story for the person who responded wanting to know if we were able to change the flight. We now have seats (4) on an earlier flight from CMI. This makes our layover in Chicago 2 hours and 45 minutes, but we are guaranteed making our connection to San Juan and eventually St. Lucia. Because we had booked using air miles there was no charge for the change and the agent I spoke to was quite accomodating. Happy travels to all!