Austin (AUS) to Chicago (MDW)
Flight time
≈ 2h 45m
Bearing
32° NE
Austin (AUS) to Chicago (MDW) is 972 miles (1,564 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
Look up a route, or build a trip
Change the airports, or add stops for a multi-leg trip.
What actually flies AUS–MDW
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop AUS–MDW; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 64% of departures; flights ran 81% full.
Departures
259
July 2026
Seats
44,603
both directions
Passengers
36,062
both directions
Load factor
80.8%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies AUS–MDW?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop AUS–MDW in July 2026 (259 departures).
- WN
259 departures · 44,603 seats
Share of departures100.0%80.8%
Load
What plane flies AUS–MDW?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 64% of AUS–MDW departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
166 departures · 82.4% load
64.1% - Boeing 737-800
74 departures · 74.8% load
28.6% - Boeing 737-700
19 departures · 93.7% load
7.3%
How has AUS–MDW traffic changed?
Nonstop AUS–MDW departures rose from 211 in August 2025 to 259 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop AUS–MDW traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
211 departures · 27,685 passengers
78.5%
Load
September 2025
208 departures · 27,135 passengers
78.1%
Load
October 2025
272 departures · 36,290 passengers
76.6%
Load
November 2025
202 departures · 25,617 passengers
73.5%
Load
December 2025
208 departures · 25,835 passengers
72.2%
Load
January 2026
173 departures · 18,491 passengers
65.6%
Load
February 2026
172 departures · 18,782 passengers
66.6%
Load
March 2026
208 departures · 23,956 passengers
73.2%
Load
April 2026
246 departures · 27,347 passengers
70.6%
Load
May 2026
262 departures · 33,009 passengers
79.2%
Load
June 2026
254 departures · 36,003 passengers
84.8%
Load
July 2026
259 departures · 36,062 passengers
80.8%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
MDW → AUS
78.6% full
131 departures · 17,508 passengers
AUS → MDW
83.1% full
128 departures · 18,554 passengers
Nonstop AUS–MDW traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through July 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Austin (AUS) from Chicago (MDW)?
AUS to MDW is 972 miles (1,564 km / 845 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from AUS to MDW?
A nonstop covers the 972-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 45m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies AUS–MDW?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (64.1%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (28.6%).
What mileage do I earn flying AUS–MDW?
Distance-based programs credit off the 972-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Keep exploring
Every route below is its own page.
Popular long-haul routes