Boston (BOS) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 1,385 km
- 861 mi · 748 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 34 min / 2 h 10 min
- Average gate to gate: BOS → MDW / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 174 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (103 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 388,044
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −0.8%
- Flights / week
- 51
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 86%
- 451,705 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 BOS
- 273°
- Heading from MDW
- 82°
- Halfway point
- 42.38, -79.42
- Great-circle km
- 1,381 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air BOS → MDW
- 2 h 12 min
- In the air MDW → BOS
- 1 h 48 min
- Clocks
- Chicago is 1 h behind Boston
The estimate for a route without real times is 2 h 25 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 41,659 |
| Sep 2025 | 36,852 |
| Oct 2025 | 40,994 |
| Nov 2025 | 24,969 |
| Dec 2025 | 25,734 |
| Jan 2026 | 16,811 |
| Feb 2026 | 15,280 |
| Mar 2026 | 29,945 |
| Apr 2026 | 33,358 |
| May 2026 | 36,665 |
| Jun 2026 | 40,905 |
| Jul 2026 | 44,872 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 267 |
| Sep 2025 | 254 |
| Oct 2025 | 276 |
| Nov 2025 | 168 |
| Dec 2025 | 181 |
| Jan 2026 | 133 |
| Feb 2026 | 118 |
| Mar 2026 | 221 |
| Apr 2026 | 237 |
| May 2026 | 245 |
| Jun 2026 | 279 |
| Jul 2026 | 294 |
Airlines flying BOS–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 · 1,264 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 946 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 463 flights
Also carried: 556 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 69.5%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 20 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.5%
- Flights counted
- 2,721
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 25% · aircraft arriving late 43% · air traffic system 29% · weather 2% · 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
- $153
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $160
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $152
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $152
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $156 · Q3 2025 $156 · Q4 2025 $178 · Q1 2026 $153).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $156, likely $135–$178
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 90% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 4%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
Cheapest quarter on this route: Q1, typically 11% below the year's average (9 years of DOT data, without 2020–21).
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: 1,381 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 Boston and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports