Chicago (MDW) – San Diego (SAN)
- Distance
- 2,781 km
- 1,728 mi · 1,502 nm
- Flight time
- 4 h 14 min / 3 h 49 min
- Average gate to gate: MDW → SAN / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 349 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (206 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 302,231
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +14.5%
- Flights / week
- 41
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 84%
- 359,817 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 MDW
- 258°
- Heading from SAN
- 60°
- Halfway point
- 38.19, -103.37
- Great-circle km
- 2,776 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air MDW → SAN
- 3 h 52 min
- In the air SAN → MDW
- 3 h 26 min
- Clocks
- San Diego is 2 h behind Chicago
The estimate for a route without real times is 4 h 5 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 25,552 |
| Sep 2025 | 24,284 |
| Oct 2025 | 25,746 |
| Nov 2025 | 23,398 |
| Dec 2025 | 25,261 |
| Jan 2026 | 17,820 |
| Feb 2026 | 17,688 |
| Mar 2026 | 26,870 |
| Apr 2026 | 27,274 |
| May 2026 | 26,940 |
| Jun 2026 | 30,632 |
| Jul 2026 | 30,766 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 174 |
| Sep 2025 | 171 |
| Oct 2025 | 177 |
| Nov 2025 | 167 |
| Dec 2025 | 182 |
| Jan 2026 | 134 |
| Feb 2026 | 132 |
| Mar 2026 | 197 |
| Apr 2026 | 206 |
| May 2026 | 205 |
| Jun 2026 | 203 |
| Jul 2026 | 207 |
Airlines flying MDW–SAN nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 41 | 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 · 1,102 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 568 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 485 flights
Also carried: 259 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 74.9%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 13 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.2%
- Flights counted
- 2,185
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 33% · aircraft arriving late 43% · air traffic system 23% · weather 1% · 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
- $203
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $208
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $202
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $202
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $233 · Q3 2025 $201 · Q4 2025 $193 · Q1 2026 $203).
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: 2,776 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 Chicago and San Diego
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports