Houston (HOU) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 1,508 km
- 937 mi · 814 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 21 min / 2 h 33 min
- Average gate to gate: HOU → MDW / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 190 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (112 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 505,727
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +0.8%
- Flights / week
- 70
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 83%
- 606,970 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 HOU
- 25°
- Heading from MDW
- 209°
- Halfway point
- 35.78, -91.80
- Great-circle km
- 1,510 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air HOU → MDW
- 2 h 4 min
- In the air MDW → HOU
- 2 h 12 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 2 h 35 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 48,662 |
| Sep 2025 | 44,522 |
| Oct 2025 | 43,694 |
| Nov 2025 | 35,063 |
| Dec 2025 | 39,160 |
| Jan 2026 | 30,425 |
| Feb 2026 | 28,636 |
| Mar 2026 | 44,183 |
| Apr 2026 | 39,862 |
| May 2026 | 44,442 |
| Jun 2026 | 50,356 |
| Jul 2026 | 56,722 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 329 |
| Sep 2025 | 323 |
| Oct 2025 | 309 |
| Nov 2025 | 272 |
| Dec 2025 | 291 |
| Jan 2026 | 257 |
| Feb 2026 | 233 |
| Mar 2026 | 311 |
| Apr 2026 | 294 |
| May 2026 | 300 |
| Jun 2026 | 341 |
| Jul 2026 | 386 |
Airlines flying HOU–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 70 | 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 · 1,598 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 1,178 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 870 flights
Also carried: 602 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 73.1%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 15 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.2%
- Flights counted
- 3,697
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 37% · aircraft arriving late 39% · air traffic system 20% · 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
- $213
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $197
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $213
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $213
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $191 · Q3 2025 $188 · Q4 2025 $202 · Q1 2026 $213).
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: 1,510 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 Houston and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Houston airports · All Chicago airports