Houston (HOU) to Chicago (MDW)
Flight time
≈ 2h 41m
Bearing
25° NE
Houston (HOU) to Chicago (MDW) is 938 miles (1,510 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies HOU–MDW
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop HOU–MDW; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 44% of departures; flights ran 82% full.
Departures
294
April 2026
Seats
48,410
both directions
Passengers
39,862
both directions
Load factor
82.3%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies HOU–MDW?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop HOU–MDW in April 2026 (294 departures).
- WN
Southwest Airlines
294 departures · 48,410 seats
Share of departures100.0%82.3%
Load
What plane flies HOU–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 44% of HOU–MDW departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
128 departures · 79.8% load
43.5% - Boeing 737-800
86 departures · 83.3% load
29.3% - Boeing 737-700
80 departures · 86.3% load
27.2%
How has HOU–MDW traffic changed?
Nonstop HOU–MDW departures fell from 324 in May 2025 to 294 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop HOU–MDW traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
324 departures · 45,035 passengers
84.3%
Load
June 2025
354 departures · 52,052 passengers
88.4%
Load
July 2025
362 departures · 54,384 passengers
89.6%
Load
August 2025
330 departures · 48,720 passengers
87.6%
Load
September 2025
323 departures · 44,522 passengers
81.1%
Load
October 2025
310 departures · 43,761 passengers
84.5%
Load
November 2025
272 departures · 35,063 passengers
77.5%
Load
December 2025
291 departures · 39,160 passengers
79.4%
Load
January 2026
257 departures · 30,425 passengers
71.7%
Load
February 2026
233 departures · 28,636 passengers
74.9%
Load
March 2026
311 departures · 44,183 passengers
85.8%
Load
April 2026
294 departures · 39,862 passengers
82.3%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
HOU → MDW
83.8% full
147 departures · 20,240 passengers
MDW → HOU
80.9% full
147 departures · 19,622 passengers
Nonstop HOU–MDW 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 Houston (HOU) from Chicago (MDW)?
HOU to MDW is 938 miles (1,510 km / 815 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from HOU to MDW?
A nonstop covers the 938-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 41m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies HOU–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (43.5%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (29.3%).
What mileage do I earn flying HOU–MDW?
Distance-based programs credit off the 938-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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