I came across this bit of interesting news today about my (hometown) airport. Apparently, British Airways, to cope with its complex aircraft movements around the Terminals at O'Hare, has just announced these curious job assignments, and will be hiring (experienced) Pilots just to Taxi their Planes around O'Hare/ORD i.e., to (essentially) drive the 777s and 787s, a mile or two on the ground (gate-to-gate).

The Salary is $90,000-$100,000 per year (part time).

Been an active traveler (domestic and international) of O'Hare airport for over 30 years, the Terminal structures of O'Hare, I've always found fascinating (and also a bit confusing). While being dropped off at the airport (by a cab or friend), on my way to an international flight, and when passing by the Arrival and Departure signs, as the Terminals come up quickly, I sometimes hesitate a bit to confirm, "Is it Terminal 5 or Terminal 1...?"...🙂...If you miss the drop-off point, you just drive around one more time.

Anyway, O'Hare is a relatively old (post WWII) airport (named after WWII ace Edward O'Hare); and, through the decades, has grown, like most historic airports, through re-planning and modernization (Runway 9C/27C was the most recent one to be added in 2020). Terminal 5 is the primary Intl. Terminal (notably used by American, United, and British Airways - for Departures Only). However, there are many exceptions e.g., Lufthansa departs from Terminal 1, whereas it lands on Terminal 5, and British Airways departures are out of Terminal 3 and arrivals into Terminal 5 etc. So, with the most no. of runways (8) currently of any major international airports of the world, O'Hare Ground movements can be complex.

So, what's behind this new job initiative of BA at O'Hare? I read as follows:

1. British Airways is hiring "Taxi Crew" pilots in Chicago (ORD) for ~$100,000 annually to efficiently move Boeing 777/787 aircraft between Terminal 5 (arrival) and Terminal 3 (departure). This specialized role maintains on-time performance (OTP) for connecting passengers and resolves limited gate space requirements for customs clearance and airport renovations.
2. The primary driver is the transatlantic joint venture with American Airlines. Many passengers connect from international BA flights to domestic AA flights. To avoid massive delays and terminal transfer chaos for passengers, BA moves their planes from arrival gates to departure gates.

Interesting job assignment...!

And significantly, it involves no actual flying, but, of course, experience is certainly required...🙂...and familiarity with O'Hare...

I am also beginning to appreciate more that the ground movements of (transiting) passengers between (Domestic and International) Terminals while keeping in mind the customs, immigration, onward connections, and locations of (partner) Alliance lounges etc. could be indeed a logistic nightmare. I recall, at Frankfurt, sometimes I had to traverse 2 security checkpoints, multiple walkways, and escalators, from one terminal to another terminal just to make use of the Star Alliance Lounge (sometimes, it was not worth the trouble and stress, I thought). So, if the aircraft moves me there, I would surely appreciate...🙂... (Note: British Airways no longer operates its own lounge at O'Hare. Instead, it uses the American Airlines Flagship Lounge (and the Admirals Club) lounges in Terminal 3. I am sure that's also one of the factors behind these renewed efforts by BA for convenience and flexibility of its passengers at O'Hare.)

Thoughts are welcome...!

Cheers...!

Edited May 3May 3 by P_7878

My imagination was picturing how this would work like bar pilots for ships.  The taxi pilots would arrive adjacent to a 747 that had just landed at the top of this vehicle to transfer to the 747 😆

1 hour ago, Mike A said:

My imagination was picturing how this would work like bar pilots for ships.  The taxi pilots would arrive adjacent to a 747 that had just landed at the top of this vehicle to transfer to the 747 😆

...🙂...That thought certainly brings in certain new logistic challenges i.e., the "Taxi Crew" will have to be ready to take over the arriving aircraft to taxi them across the airport.

I am assuming these "so-called" taxi crew in O'Hare (distinct from the long-haul crew) could be anyone (qualified and UK based or US based) with U.S. work authorization, but they are operating here foreign registered aircraft e.g. a BA 777 or a 787.

Here is what I'm reading:

1. Job Purpose: Move BA Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft between Terminal 5 (International/Arrival) and (Departure) Terminal 3 to maintain on-time performance.
2. Requirements: Requires current/recent experience as a Captain or First Officer on Boeing 777/787 aircraft, an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license, and US work authorization.
3. No Flying: Pilots in this role do not perform takeoffs or landings.

Oh well...it will be interesting to see how it might all work and if it improves passenger experience.

Surely, BA must have thought it out.

Edited May 3May 3 by P_7878

Has British Airways broadcast anything about being willing to hire MSFS sim pilots to taxi real planes around KORD?

24 minutes ago, Fielder said:

Has British Airways broadcast anything about being willing to hire MSFS sim pilots to taxi real planes around KORD?

TBH, that thought had crossed my mind...🙂...

I know of a few (airport) ground movement puritans around here in our virtual world, who might actually come close to fitting the job description (of course, yours truly excluded, (guilty of) routinely taking short-cuts) ...

On second reading, this job seems limited to just moving the aircraft from one terminal to another, while flights landing and departing taxi to and from the runway with the pilots who fly the aircraft.

As I know nothing about O’Hare operations, it seemed odd to me that BA flights would arrive at one terminal and depart from another.  I found this article that explains why:

https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2026/05/03/british-airways-will-pay-pilots-100000-a-year-just-to-taxi-planes-on-the-ground-around-chicago-ohare/

Mike:

Thanks for chiming in. Indeed, the logistics of arrivals and departures (especially international) at the major airports of the world is an interesting subject of study...🙂...

The actualities vary from airport to airport. It also depends on the historical growth of the airport (older ones vs. new ones), and their adaptation to the emerging challenges of the modern era of global travel. 707 and 747 introduced (easy) long-haul travel in the 60s and 70s respectively. So, (major) airports such as ORD/JFK that had come into existence decades before were less equipped to adjust to changes vs. e.g., newer ones such as DEN/ATL, that were planned and built in the 80s and 90s.

I had posted a couple of (historical) posts in the Screenshots Forum about O'Hare. It had started out of an Apple Orchard (hence "ORD") intended to be a WWII aircraft factory. So, it has gone through many (significant) upgrades of the original structure to become the major airport of today. And, yes, the arrival/departure are part of the confusion at O'Hare, as far back as I can recall. 

Here are two examples of it:

1. For Star Alliance members (United/Lufthansa): Lufthansa departs from Terminal 1 and arrives at Terminal 5. United operates primarily out of Terminal 1 for international departures, and the international arrivals land at Terminal 5. Note, arrivals and departures are on different Terminals but aligned between partners UA/LH. The Star Alliance Lounge is in Terminal 5.
2. For Oneworld partners (American Airlines/British Airways) - (Relevant to this discussion): BA had always operated its departures from Terminal 5 at O'Hare, before moving departures to Terminal 3 two years ago, on April 25, 2024, whereas AA primarily has used Terminal 3 for all departures, and international arrivals at Terminal 5. I distinctly recall flying BA from T5/O'Hare to T5/Heathrow (Brand new T5/Heathrow was just blessed by Queen Elizabeth II...🙂...); and arriving back also from T5/Heathrow to T5/O'Hare. It was most convenient. 

Considering the factors of Security, Customs, Immigration, Connections and Lounge facilities etc., I would personally prefer the arrivals and the (connecting) departures to be on the same terminal, but it's often not so at O'Hare. Anyway, BA, with its move of departures to Terminal 3, is aligning with AA at O'Hare. Here is what BA had said of the move to Terminal 3, "Eligible BA customers will gain access to the AA Flagship Lounge in Terminal 3. This move aims to streamline operations and enhance the travel experience for passengers."

The BA arrivals are currently still into Terminal 5 (just as for AA), and hence, (apparently) now the further need to shuttle their 777s/787s between the 2 terminals (specifically from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3). Another curiosity about O'Hare: It does not have a Terminal 4 i.e., it has skipped 4 (so, the airport shuttle quickly travels from T5 next to T3; nice for airplane spotting). Of course, how the 777s/787s would taxi, on the taxiways between these 2 (adjacent) terminals, is another matter.

That's for BA (and the Taxi Pilots) to worry...🙂...but nonetheless interesting...in terms of these new (and curious) job assignments...announced last week...!

Cheers...!

I wonder how much work there will be in one day for a certain pilot to move all the 777s/787s planes which are BA and which land at O'hare? Google AI tells me that BA schedules 3 flights every day into O'hare using 777s and 787s. 

So that seems to mean $100,000 a year to taxi 3 planes twice every day. Moving back and forth from one terminal to the other. 

🎵 You board your plane at Terminal 5

    You flip some switches, and it comes alive

    The 747 rolls away from the gate

    The sky is calling, it just can't wait

    The other planes scatter, to let you by

    All make way for the Queen of the sky

    Your final destination, what will it be?

    Same as always, Terminal 3 ...

     Grooooouuuund, Pi-lot

    Grooooouuuund, Pi-lot

    Will you ever fly

    You'll never, never, never reach the skyyyyyy 

 

Edited May 4May 4 by Mike A

@Mike A

Nice tune...

You're thinking of the Sky Pilot (song) and the Queen of the Skies (747) ...together... 🙂...

I miss seeing those (graceful) BA 747s around O'Hare, from 5-10 years ago, but no more...it's now only those monstrous twinjets with their monstrous (two) engines...

2 hours ago, Fielder said:

I wonder how much work there will be in one day for a certain pilot to move all the 777s/787s planes which are BA and which land at O'hare? Google AI tells me that BA schedules 3 flights every day into O'hare using 777s and 787s. 

So that seems to mean $100,000 a year to taxi 3 planes twice every day. Moving back and forth from one terminal to the other. 

Yes, we would think, if only one (Taxi) Pilot is engaged full time, the assignment could be about right. However, BA has the assignments advertised as "Permanent Part-time", meaning probably a shared responsibility among multiple (Taxi) crew members.

Of course, moving the widebody aircraft (777/787), gate-to-gate, on the ground, across the busy airport, on a daily basis, in the (notoriously) high-traffic environment, and compounded by the on-going gate congestion issues; must have its complexities and challenges.

Moreover, International Terminal 5, at O'Hare, remains isolated from the other 3 Terminals (1, 2, 3). While in the cockpit of the (iniBuilds) L-1011, I took a snapshot of the KORD Terminal Layout from its PFB/EFB (see below). Notice how the Terminals (1, 2, 3) are (connected) close together at the center of the diagram, while the International Terminal 5 remains far separated at the RHS edge of the diagram.

Anyway, it will be all a novel experiment to conduct on daily basis by an airline at O'Hare, with perceptible benefits, hopefully.

 

Edited May 4May 4 by P_7878

This seems like an insane waste of money. Then again, if they are advertising it, I can’t imagine how much money they are saving by not contracting it out.

The silly BA safety video does not have any cats 😞

 

But the Kenya does! 

 

@Fielder

Nice videos...

And, yes, Cats are good...whether as a spokesperson of airline safety...or going under the couch and thinking to be completely unreachable (by bothersome humans) ...

Photo from yesterday and the first year Birthday was last week, but he thinks he is no longer a kitten but already a Big Cat like the one in the video...

Edited May 5May 5 by P_7878