Houston (IAH) to Chicago (ORD)
Flight time
≈ 2h 39m
Bearing
25° NE
Houston (IAH) to Chicago (ORD) is 926 miles (1,491 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies IAH–ORD
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 9 carriers flying nonstop IAH–ORD; the Airbus A321neo was the most common aircraft at 49% of departures; flights ran 80% full.
Departures
1,023
April 2026
Seats
174,953
both directions
Passengers
139,401
both directions
Load factor
79.7%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies IAH–ORD?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop IAH–ORD departures in April 2026 (654), one of 9 carriers on the route.
- UA
United Airlines
654 departures · 126,411 seats
Share of departures63.9%79.2%
Load
- MQ
Envoy Air
100 departures · 7,578 seats
Share of departures9.8%88.2%
Load
- YX
Republic Airways
96 departures · 7,274 seats
Share of departures9.4%88.8%
Load
- AA
American Airlines
75 departures · 12,548 seats
Share of departures7.3%63.7%
Load
- F9
Frontier Airlines
53 departures · 11,746 seats
Share of departures5.2%85.9%
Load
- NK
Spirit Airlines
41 departures · 9,040 seats
Share of departures4.0%87.7%
Load
- OO
SkyWest Airlines
2 departures · 146 seats
Share of departures0.2%0.0%
Load
- C5
CommuteAir
1 departures · 50 seats
Share of departures0.1%16.0%
Load
- AM
Aeroméxico
1 departures · 160 seats
Share of departures0.1%73.1%
Load
What plane flies IAH–ORD?
In April 2026, the Airbus A321neo flew 49% of IAH–ORD departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Airbus A321neo
497 departures · 79.5% load
48.6% - Embraer E175
196 departures · 87.7% load
19.2% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
115 departures · 77.5% load
11.2% - Boeing 737-900ER
94 departures · 85.0% load
9.2% - Boeing 737-800
66 departures · 61.5% load
6.5% - Airbus A321
23 departures · 89.5% load
2.3% - Airbus A320neo
16 departures · 84.4% load
1.6% - Airbus A319
8 departures · 88.1% load
0.8% - Airbus A320
3 departures · 78.4% load
0.3% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
2 departures · 70.6% load
0.2% - Embraer E170
2 departures · 85.4% load
0.2% - Embraer ERJ-145
1 departures · 16.0% load
0.1%
How has IAH–ORD traffic changed?
Nonstop IAH–ORD departures rose from 1,007 in May 2025 to 1,023 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop IAH–ORD traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
1,007 departures · 151,401 passengers
85.2%
Load
June 2025
1,003 departures · 147,071 passengers
87.9%
Load
July 2025
1,007 departures · 149,625 passengers
88.8%
Load
August 2025
1,048 departures · 146,606 passengers
85.5%
Load
September 2025
1,068 departures · 143,007 passengers
81.2%
Load
October 2025
1,036 departures · 146,828 passengers
83.1%
Load
November 2025
910 departures · 123,684 passengers
79.6%
Load
December 2025
1,019 departures · 145,664 passengers
82.3%
Load
January 2026
927 departures · 121,089 passengers
76.6%
Load
February 2026
870 departures · 117,335 passengers
77.7%
Load
March 2026
987 departures · 145,289 passengers
82.6%
Load
April 2026
1,023 departures · 139,401 passengers
79.7%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
ORD → IAH
75.3% full
516 departures · 66,160 passengers
IAH → ORD
84.1% full
507 departures · 73,241 passengers
Nonstop IAH–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 Houston (IAH) from Chicago (ORD)?
IAH to ORD is 926 miles (1,491 km / 805 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from IAH to ORD?
A nonstop covers the 926-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 39m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies IAH–ORD?
In April 2026, the Airbus A321neo flew the largest share of departures (48.6%), followed by the Embraer E175 (19.2%).
What mileage do I earn flying IAH–ORD?
Distance-based programs credit off the 926-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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