Chicago (ORD) – Seattle (SEA)
- Distance
- 2,769 km
- 1,721 mi · 1,495 nm
- Flight time
- 4 h 38 min / 4 h 4 min
- Average gate to gate: ORD → SEA / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 347 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (205 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 1,622,991
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +3.2%
- Flights / week
- 210
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 85%
- 1,901,438 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 4
- AS, UA, AA
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 ORD
- 294°
- Heading from SEA
- 90°
- Halfway point
- 46.03, -104.27
- Great-circle km
- 2,762 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air ORD → SEA
- 3 h 59 min
- In the air SEA → ORD
- 3 h 23 min
- Clocks
- Seattle 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 | 193,713 |
| Sep 2025 | 157,332 |
| Oct 2025 | 143,010 |
| Nov 2025 | 101,361 |
| Dec 2025 | 106,767 |
| Jan 2026 | 80,003 |
| Feb 2026 | 78,893 |
| Mar 2026 | 100,526 |
| Apr 2026 | 124,152 |
| May 2026 | 162,198 |
| Jun 2026 | 180,920 |
| Jul 2026 | 194,116 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 1,172 |
| Sep 2025 | 1,014 |
| Oct 2025 | 982 |
| Nov 2025 | 746 |
| Dec 2025 | 754 |
| Jan 2026 | 592 |
| Feb 2026 | 598 |
| Mar 2026 | 688 |
| Apr 2026 | 912 |
| May 2026 | 1,119 |
| Jun 2026 | 1,141 |
| Jul 2026 | 1,188 |
Airlines flying ORD–SEA nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| ASAlaska Airlines | 68 | 33% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 57 | 29% |
| AAAmerican Airlines | 51 | 25% |
| DLDelta Air Lines | 34 | 14% |
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 737-800 · 3,197 flights
- Boeing 737-900ER · 2,054 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 1,828 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 1,318 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 1,024 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 746 flights
- A220-300 BD-500-1A11 · 565 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 104 flights
Also carried: 1,468 tonnes of freight and 482 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 71.9%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 21 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.4%
- Flights counted
- 11,109
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| ASAlaska Airlines | 69.8% | 20 min |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 77.6% | 17 min |
| AAAmerican Airlines | 68.1% | 27 min |
| DLDelta Air Lines | 72.1% | 21 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 32% · aircraft arriving late 35% · air traffic system 28% · 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
- $232
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $233
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Alaska Airlines
- 43% of passengers · $217
- Lowest-fare airline
- Alaska Airlines
- 43% of passengers · $217
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $227 · Q3 2025 $229 · Q4 2025 $247 · Q1 2026 $232).
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: 2,762 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 Seattle
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports · All Seattle airports
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 |
More routes from SEA
| Route | Distance | Passengers / year |
|---|---|---|
| SEA → DEN | 1,648 km | 1,819,437 |
| SEA → PHX | 1,781 km | 1,813,338 |
| SEA → LAX | 1,535 km | 1,810,795 |
| SEA → ANC | 2,331 km | 1,694,688 |
| SEA → SFO | 1,092 km | 1,628,228 |
| SEA → LAS | 1,394 km | 1,596,435 |
| SEA → DFW | 2,671 km | 1,577,921 |
| SEA → SAN | 1,690 km | 1,233,726 |
| SEA → SLC | 1,108 km | 1,106,553 |
| SEA → ATL | 3,511 km | 1,090,727 |