New York (LGA) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 1,167 km
- 725 mi · 630 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 21 min / 2 h 1 min
- Average gate to gate: LGA → MDW / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 146 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (87 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 606,705
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −5.5%
- Flights / week
- 87
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 81%
- 746,417 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 LGA
- 280°
- Heading from MDW
- 91°
- Halfway point
- 41.49, -80.76
- Great-circle km
- 1,164 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air LGA → MDW
- 1 h 52 min
- In the air MDW → LGA
- 1 h 37 min
- Clocks
- Chicago is 1 h behind New York
The estimate for a route without real times is 2 h 10 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 59,403 |
| Sep 2025 | 52,744 |
| Oct 2025 | 55,551 |
| Nov 2025 | 47,731 |
| Dec 2025 | 55,077 |
| Jan 2026 | 38,718 |
| Feb 2026 | 34,203 |
| Mar 2026 | 43,752 |
| Apr 2026 | 47,808 |
| May 2026 | 56,009 |
| Jun 2026 | 58,526 |
| Jul 2026 | 57,183 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 401 |
| Sep 2025 | 389 |
| Oct 2025 | 396 |
| Nov 2025 | 357 |
| Dec 2025 | 386 |
| Jan 2026 | 378 |
| Feb 2026 | 340 |
| Mar 2026 | 347 |
| Apr 2026 | 385 |
| May 2026 | 389 |
| Jun 2026 | 390 |
| Jul 2026 | 371 |
Airlines flying LGA–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 87 | 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 · 1,788 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 1,421 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 1,320 flights
Also carried: 1,034 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 70.7%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 19 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 4.5%
- Flights counted
- 4,770
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 24% · aircraft arriving late 38% · air traffic system 34% · weather 5% · 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
- $171
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $180
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $171
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $171
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $176 · Q3 2025 $181 · Q4 2025 $194 · Q1 2026 $171).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $175, likely $151–$199
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 86% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 7.5%). 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
Cheapest quarter on this route: Q1, typically 14% 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: 1,164 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 New York and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All New York airports · All Chicago airports