Columbia (COU) to Chicago (ORD)
Flight time
≈ 1h 26m
Bearing
45° NE
Columbia (COU) to Chicago (ORD) is 315 miles (507 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies COU–ORD
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, SkyWest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop COU–ORD; the Bombardier CRJ-550 was the most common aircraft at 54% of departures; flights ran 69% full.
Departures
367
April 2026
Seats
22,021
both directions
Passengers
15,231
both directions
Load factor
69.2%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies COU–ORD?
SkyWest Airlines operated the most nonstop COU–ORD departures in April 2026 (197), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- OO
SkyWest Airlines
197 departures · 9,850 seats
Share of departures53.7%71.3%
Load
- MQ
Envoy Air
170 departures · 12,171 seats
Share of departures46.3%67.4%
Load
What plane flies COU–ORD?
In April 2026, the Bombardier CRJ-550 flew 54% of COU–ORD departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Bombardier CRJ-550
197 departures · 71.3% load
53.7% - Embraer E175
102 departures · 69.0% load
27.8% - Embraer E170
68 departures · 64.6% load
18.5%
How has COU–ORD traffic changed?
Nonstop COU–ORD departures rose from 180 in May 2025 to 367 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop COU–ORD traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
180 departures · 8,900 passengers
74.9%
Load
June 2025
164 departures · 7,817 passengers
73.0%
Load
July 2025
164 departures · 8,097 passengers
75.6%
Load
August 2025
148 departures · 7,542 passengers
77.6%
Load
September 2025
213 departures · 9,415 passengers
69.3%
Load
October 2025
358 departures · 13,732 passengers
63.7%
Load
November 2025
309 departures · 11,891 passengers
63.8%
Load
December 2025
391 departures · 12,795 passengers
55.3%
Load
January 2026
358 departures · 10,616 passengers
51.0%
Load
February 2026
327 departures · 12,372 passengers
64.7%
Load
March 2026
347 departures · 14,362 passengers
70.0%
Load
April 2026
367 departures · 15,231 passengers
69.2%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
COU → ORD
73.0% full
185 departures · 8,096 passengers
ORD → COU
65.3% full
182 departures · 7,135 passengers
Nonstop COU–ORD traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Columbia (COU) from Chicago (ORD)?
COU to ORD is 315 miles (507 km / 274 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from COU to ORD?
A nonstop covers the 315-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 26m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies COU–ORD?
In April 2026, the Bombardier CRJ-550 flew the largest share of departures (53.7%), followed by the Embraer E175 (27.8%).
What mileage do I earn flying COU–ORD?
Distance-based programs credit off the 315-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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