Washington (IAD) – Chicago (ORD)
- Distance
- 947 km
- 589 mi · 512 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 16 min / 1 h 59 min
- Average gate to gate: IAD → ORD / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 119 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (70 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 592,426
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +11.8%
- Flights / week
- 81
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 79%
- 746,376 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 2
- UA, OO
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 IAD
- 294°
- Heading from ORD
- 107°
- Halfway point
- 40.58, -82.56
- Great-circle km
- 945 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air IAD → ORD
- 1 h 35 min
- In the air ORD → IAD
- 1 h 21 min
- Clocks
- Chicago is 1 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 55 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 57,703 |
| Sep 2025 | 53,114 |
| Oct 2025 | 50,970 |
| Nov 2025 | 41,342 |
| Dec 2025 | 42,784 |
| Jan 2026 | 31,219 |
| Feb 2026 | 28,717 |
| Mar 2026 | 44,166 |
| Apr 2026 | 50,452 |
| May 2026 | 61,603 |
| Jun 2026 | 65,181 |
| Jul 2026 | 65,175 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 391 |
| Sep 2025 | 408 |
| Oct 2025 | 355 |
| Nov 2025 | 302 |
| Dec 2025 | 301 |
| Jan 2026 | 263 |
| Feb 2026 | 225 |
| Mar 2026 | 305 |
| Apr 2026 | 373 |
| May 2026 | 440 |
| Jun 2026 | 423 |
| Jul 2026 | 432 |
Airlines flying IAD–ORD nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 80 | 100% |
| OOSkyWest Airlines | 0.9 | 0% |
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 737-900ER · 1,606 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 685 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 630 flights
- Boeing 757-200 · 415 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 352 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 230 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 72 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 70 flights
Also carried: 332 tonnes of freight and 111 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 75.7%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 20 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 0.9%
- Flights counted
- 4,167
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 24% · aircraft arriving late 28% · air traffic system 41% · weather 7% · security 0%.
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
- $265
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $238
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- United Air Lines
- 98% of passengers · $265
- Lowest-fare airline
- United Air Lines
- 98% of passengers · $265
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $237 · Q3 2025 $220 · Q4 2025 $245 · Q1 2026 $265).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $271, likely $234–$308
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 5%). 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
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: 945 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 Washington and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports · All Chicago airports
More routes from IAD
More routes from ORD
| Route | Distance | Passengers / year |
|---|---|---|
| ORD → LGA | 1,180 km | 2,736,902 |
| ORD → LAX | 2,808 km | 2,332,419 |
| ORD → SFO | 2,971 km | 1,976,484 |
| ORD → DEN | 1,430 km | 1,974,190 |
| ORD → MCO | 1,617 km | 1,924,694 |
| ORD → DFW | 1,290 km | 1,916,312 |
| ORD → BOS | 1,395 km | 1,886,038 |
| ORD → EWR | 1,157 km | 1,731,402 |
| ORD → IAH | 1,489 km | 1,711,056 |
| ORD → PHX | 2,317 km | 1,706,053 |