ORDAirport Guide

American Airlines and Contour at O'Hare: Terminal 3 check-in

American and Contour check in at O'Hare Terminal 3. American has separate international, Priority and Flagship counters, kiosks and curbside check-in.

Two American Airlines check-in positions with kiosks and blue stanchion belts in the Terminal 3 departures hall at O'Hare.
American Airlines check-in, Terminal 3

Both airlines check in at Terminal 3, on the Departures and Check-In level. The airport lists separate international, Priority and Flagship counters for American. For Contour the airport gives the terminal and the level and nothing more.

American Airlines: counters, kiosks and the curb

The airport’s listing for American Airlines names three ways to check in.

Way to check in What the airport lists
Counters Separate international, Priority and Flagship counters
Kiosks Self check-in kiosks on both levels of the terminal
Curb Curbside check-in

The listing names the counters but doesn’t say who qualifies for each one. American’s own rules for your fare and status decide that, so check them before you pick a line. It also doesn’t give the position of each counter.

Contour: no extras listed

The airport lists no kiosks, curbside service or separate counters for Contour Airlines. Its lounge page doesn’t name Contour either.

Past security: four checkpoints, four concourses

Terminal 3 has four concourses, G, H, K and L, and any of its four checkpoints leads to all of them. Those are Checkpoints 6, 7, 7A and 8, and our security page has each one’s hours. The directory names only the terminal, so American tells you the concourse your flight leaves from. Our Terminal 3 guide shows the checkpoints and concourses.

American’s lounges are all in Terminal 3

American runs the Admirals Club near Gate G8 and the Admirals Club near Gate L2A, plus the Flagship Lounge between Gates H6 and K6. The airport’s lounge page lists the Admirals Club at Gates G8, L2A and H6/K6, and the Flagship Lounge at H6/K6. The airport’s terminal map places a third Admirals Club by Gate H6, beside the Flagship Lounge. Our Admirals Club and Flagship guide covers who gets in.

The airport heads the Admirals Club row “American/JAL/Iberia”, which covers Japan Airlines and Iberia customers whose fare or status includes lounge access. On day passes, the lounge page says travelers without a membership “may also purchase day passes for most of the clubs,” naming no club and no price. American’s Admirals Club page says one-day pass access may be limited or unavailable when a lounge is full. For the Flagship Lounge, American’s page prices a Single Visit Pass at $150 or 15,000 AAdvantage miles per person. You must be at least 21 to buy one, and it covers a same-day flight marketed or operated by American or a oneworld airline, in any cabin.

Arriving from abroad on American

The airport’s International Traveler page sends flights from abroad through U.S. customs in Terminal 5. It doesn’t say which airlines’ flights arrive where. Passengers connecting on to American who aren’t checked through can recheck bags with an airline employee right after the customs area, which saves carrying them to the domestic terminals. The free Airport Transit System then reaches Terminal 3, and our Terminal 5 arrivals guide covers customs and baggage. American’s baggage assistance desk is on the Terminal 3 Arrivals and Baggage Claim level.

Coming from another terminal

Terminals 1 and 2 join Terminal 3 past security, so a change from a Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 airline needs no second screening. Our walking guide covers the walk between Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The Terminal Transfer Bus from Terminal 5 stops at Gates G17 and K20 in Terminal 3, and only connecting passengers with a same-day boarding pass for a Terminal 3 departure may ride it.

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