Austin (AUS) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 1,563 km
- 971 mi · 844 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 27 min / 2 h 35 min
- Average gate to gate: AUS → MDW / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 197 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (116 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 336,212
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +0.0%
- Flights / week
- 51
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 76%
- 444,540 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 1
- WN
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from AUS
- 32°
- Heading from MDW
- 218°
- Halfway point
- 36.10, -93.07
- Great-circle km
- 1,564 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air AUS → MDW
- 2 h 9 min
- In the air MDW → AUS
- 2 h 13 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 2 h 40 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 27,685 |
| Sep 2025 | 27,135 |
| Oct 2025 | 36,290 |
| Nov 2025 | 25,617 |
| Dec 2025 | 25,835 |
| Jan 2026 | 18,491 |
| Feb 2026 | 18,782 |
| Mar 2026 | 23,956 |
| Apr 2026 | 27,347 |
| May 2026 | 33,009 |
| Jun 2026 | 36,003 |
| Jul 2026 | 36,062 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 211 |
| Sep 2025 | 208 |
| Oct 2025 | 272 |
| Nov 2025 | 201 |
| Dec 2025 | 208 |
| Jan 2026 | 173 |
| Feb 2026 | 172 |
| Mar 2026 | 208 |
| Apr 2026 | 246 |
| May 2026 | 262 |
| Jun 2026 | 254 |
| Jul 2026 | 259 |
Airlines flying AUS–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 51 | 100% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,221 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 812 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 641 flights
Also carried: 156 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 77%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 13 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1%
- Flights counted
- 2,706
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 29% · aircraft arriving late 48% · air traffic system 19% · weather 3% · security 1%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $225
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $200
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 98% of passengers · $225
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 98% of passengers · $225
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $187 · Q3 2025 $197 · Q4 2025 $203 · Q1 2026 $225).
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 1,564 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between Austin and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports