Chicago (MDW) to San Francisco (SFO)
Flight time
≈ 4h 30m
Bearing
273° W
Chicago (MDW) to San Francisco (SFO) is 1,850 miles (2,977 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies MDW–SFO
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop MDW–SFO; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 51% of departures; flights ran 92% full.
Departures
121
July 2026
Seats
20,236
both directions
Passengers
18,596
both directions
Load factor
91.9%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies MDW–SFO?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop MDW–SFO departures in July 2026 (120), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- WN
120 departures · 20,164 seats
Share of departures99.2%92.2%
Load
- DL
1 departures · 72 seats
Share of departures0.8%0.0%
Load
What plane flies MDW–SFO?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 51% of MDW–SFO departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
62 departures · 91.9% load
51.2% - Boeing 737-800
36 departures · 90.9% load
29.8% - Boeing 737-700
22 departures · 96.1% load
18.2% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 0.0% load
0.8%
How has MDW–SFO traffic changed?
Nonstop MDW–SFO departures rose from 62 in August 2025 to 121 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop MDW–SFO traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
62 departures · 9,358 passengers
93.8%
Load
September 2025
61 departures · 8,783 passengers
89.9%
Load
October 2025
61 departures · 8,660 passengers
86.9%
Load
November 2025
58 departures · 8,398 passengers
83.5%
Load
December 2025
63 departures · 9,190 passengers
84.1%
Load
January 2026
28 departures · 3,900 passengers
79.6%
Load
February 2026
41 departures · 4,625 passengers
69.5%
Load
March 2026
106 departures · 14,918 passengers
83.5%
Load
April 2026
117 departures · 16,451 passengers
82.7%
Load
May 2026
125 departures · 18,226 passengers
85.2%
Load
June 2026
121 departures · 18,844 passengers
93.3%
Load
July 2026
121 departures · 18,596 passengers
91.9%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
SFO → MDW
91.6% full
61 departures · 9,546 passengers
MDW → SFO
92.2% full
60 departures · 9,050 passengers
Nonstop MDW–SFO 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 Chicago (MDW) from San Francisco (SFO)?
MDW to SFO is 1,850 miles (2,977 km / 1,608 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from MDW to SFO?
A nonstop covers the 1,850-mile great-circle distance in roughly 4h 30m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies MDW–SFO?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (51.2%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (29.8%).
What mileage do I earn flying MDW–SFO?
Distance-based programs credit off the 1,850-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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