The Air France Lounge in Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is a small but comfortable SkyTeam lounge in Terminal 5 with a selection of food and drinks that satiated my family ahead of our transatlantic flight.
Air France Lounge Chicago Review (ORD)
O’Hare Terminal 5 actually has two SkyTeam lounges: a Delta Sky Club and Air France Lounge (sadly, the SAS Lounge closed in October 2025). It was Christmas Eve and the Delta Sky Club was closed, which meant a big crowd in the Air France Lounge at 6:00 pm.
Hours + Access + Location
The lounge is located in T5 near gate M17 (next to the LOT Polish Lounge) and open daily from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm.
You can use this lounge if traveling on a SkyTeam flight in a premium cabin or while holding SkyTeam elite status:
- La Première (though Air France does not presently offer first class service from Chicago)
- Business Class
- Flying Blue Gold status
- Flying Blue Platinum status
- SkyTeam Elite Plus status
(this now includes domestic itineraries)
A guest is permitted unless you are traveling in business class without SkyTeam Elite Plus status.
This is also a Priority Pass Lounge, but only between the hours of 5:00 am and 12:00 pm and then from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm (since the Air France and KLM flights leave in the late afternoon and the lounge gets crowded)
We faced a lounge filled to capacity and a line out the door that reminded me of an American Express Centurion Lounge…from what I’m told, though, this lounge is very rarely crowded so I think our visit can be blamed on the Delta Sky Club closure.
Seating
This lounge is 5,060 square feet (470 square meters), with seating for 105 guests…all in a single large room with a bar on one side and food buffet on the other side.
There are chairs intended for lounging, tables with chairs, and seating at the bar.
It was quite crowded when we entered the lounge, but by the time we left about 30 minutes later, the lounge was almost empty…
Food + Drink
My kids were very hungry (they’re at that age!) and the lounge had many hungry people hovering like vultures around the buffet. Every time a dish was brought in, it was quickly devoured. There were not even enough plates, bowls, or utensils.
That said, the food looked appealing. There were hot and cold items including salad, quiche, sliced meats and cheese, soups, Shepard’s pie, and a tandoori chicken dish. Once the “rush” died down, there were no shortages.
(I was glad to save my appetite for the flight, since SAS catering rarely lets down…but I’d certainly eat lunch here if stepping onto a domestic flight)
Self-serve coffee, tea, water, and soft drinks were in the buffet area and a bar on the other side offered alcoholic beverages.
Restrooms + Showers
The lounge has male and female restrooms and a handicapped restroom that also has the shower suite (it was occupied so I don’t have a picture).
Lockers
Near the entrance, there are six lockers that can store carry-on bags (these can be locked and unlocked through a four-digit combination you set yourself).
CONCLUSION
We didn’t have a positive first impression of this lounge with the extreme crowding, but I understand this likely was an anomaly due to the closure of the Delta Sky Club. That said, this is a very nicely-designed lounge with tarmac views and a respectable variety of food and drinks, plus clean restrooms and a shower suite.
As a Priority Pass Lounge, it truly beats the pathetic Swissport Lounge down the hall (which, by the way, was also so crowded on Christmas Eve they were turning away Priority Pass guests).
On the one had, sad that the SAS lounge ended up closing, as it did give Skyteam members more choices. On the other hand, it wasn’t anything special (though at least with the Swissport lounge active, it wasn’t the worst lounge at ORD).
I wonder what, if anything, will replace it.
How did you manage to get the “clean” lounge shots – did you take them at closing time?
The ironic thing was that although the lounge was packed to the gills when we entered at 18:00, by the time we left just before 19:00 it had emptied out.