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Route

Los Angeles → Chicago

LAXLos AngelesLos Angeles International Airport
MDWChicagoChicago Midway International Airport
Distance
1,747 mi
Estimated flight time
~4h

Chicago is currently 2 hours ahead of Los Angeles.

Observed nonstop

View the reverse route

How often does this route fly?

Frequency

A couple of times a day

On average around 3 flights a day, observed from October 2025 to September 2026.

3
flights per day
4
busiest month · Oct
3
quietest month · Nov
3 hr 27 min
measured flight time
12 / 12
months seen

Through the year

Per day, month by month

  1. 3Jan2026
  2. 3Feb
  3. 3Mar
  4. 3Apr
  5. 3May
  6. 4Jun
  7. 4Jul
  8. 3Aug
  9. 3.5Sep
  10. 4Oct2025
  11. 3Nov
  12. 3Dec

Airlines

Who flies it

Southwest Airlinesall year

Through the day

Departure times

Local time in Los Angeles. Most departures between 23:00 and 02:00.

  1. 00:00
  2. 01:00
  3. 02:00
  4. 03:00
  5. 04:00
  6. 05:00
  7. 06:00
  8. 07:00
  9. 08:00
  10. 09:00
  11. 10:00
  12. 11:00
  13. 12:00
  14. 13:00
  15. 14:00
  16. 15:00
  17. 16:00
  18. 17:00
  19. 18:00
  20. 19:00
  21. 20:00
  22. 21:00
  23. 22:00
  24. 23:00

Through the week

By weekday

  1. 3.4Mon
  2. 3.7Tue
  3. 3.4Wed
  4. 2.9Thu
  5. 3.5Fri
  6. 3.5Sat
  7. 2.9Sun

Fleet

Aircraft observed

  1. Boeing 737 MAX 8B38M47%
  2. Boeing 737-800B73833%
  3. Boeing 737-700B73716%
  4. Cessna Citation LongitudeC7001%
  5. Gulfstream G650GLF61%
All the numbers in a table
MonthPer daySeenAirlines
January 2026396
  • Southwest Airlines90×
February 2026387
  • Southwest Airlines83×
March 2026393
  • Southwest Airlines90×
April 2026395
  • Southwest Airlines89×
May 2026392
  • Southwest Airlines90×
June 20264103
  • Southwest Airlines101×
July 20264117
  • Southwest Airlines110×
August 2026398
  • Southwest Airlines97×
September 20263.5104
  • Southwest Airlines98×
October 20254118
  • Southwest Airlines112×
November 2025398
  • Southwest Airlines96×
December 2025398
  • Southwest Airlines94×

Airlines observed on this route

From observed callsign routes on LAX-MDW - not a booking guarantee.

Southwest Airlines

WN · SWA

Hub: DEN Denver

117 departure airportsView airline →

About this route

  • Domestic route: both airports are in the same country.
  • The opposite direction has also been observed as a direct connection.
  • Direct destinations observed from Los Angeles: 161.
  • Direct destinations observed from Chicago: 108.

The airports on this route

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles, United StatesLAX / KLAX

International hub · 161 direct destinations · 4 runways · longest runway 12,894 ft

72 °F · ClearSource: METAR observation via the NOAA Aviation Weather Center

Airport pageAll direct destinations

Chicago Midway International Airport

Chicago, United StatesMDW / KMDW

Major airport · 108 direct destinations · 4 runways · longest runway 6,522 ft

52 °F · CloudySource: METAR observation via the NOAA Aviation Weather Center

Airport pageAll direct destinations

Alternative airports for this journey

Same journey, a different airport nearby - with an observed direct connection.

LAX ORDChicago O'Hare International AirportChicago is about 16 mi from Chicago.View route →LGB MDWLong Beach International AirportLong Beach is about 17 mi from Los Angeles.View route →BUR MDWHollywood Burbank/Bob Hope AirportBurbank is about 18 mi from Los Angeles.View route →SNA MDWJohn Wayne Orange County International AirportSanta Ana is about 36 mi from Los Angeles.View route →

About the route from Los Angeles to Chicago

The observed direct connection between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) covers approximately 1,747 mi. The estimated flight time is around 4h. Southwest Airlines has been observed on this connection in the available route data.

Frequently asked questions about this route

How far is Los Angeles from Chicago by air?
The great-circle distance between Los Angeles International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport is approximately 1,747 mi.
How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Chicago?
Based on the distance, the estimated flight time is about 4h. This is an estimate, not a schedule.
Is there a direct connection from Los Angeles to Chicago?
Yes, a direct connection between LAX and MDW has been observed in our route data.
Which airlines have been observed on this route?
In the available route data: Southwest Airlines.
How often is there a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago?
On average around 3 flights a day, measured over twelve months (October 2025 to September 2026) in the flight archive, with 1,199 observed flights. Mainly Southwest Airlines. That is an observation, not a timetable.
What is the current time difference between Los Angeles and Chicago?
Chicago is currently 2 hours ahead of Los Angeles.

Where this data comes from

The route data comes from the flight archive (ADS-B, adsb.lol): which connections actually flew over the last twelve full months and who flew them, combined with our own airport, runway, and airline datasets. It is reference data about observed routes - not a current timetable and no claim about bookability.

The frequency and aircraft on this page come from the flight archive (ADS-B, 12 months, October 2025 to September 2026), summarized per route per month. We do not see every flight, so it is a floor, not a count.

Route data updated on October 11, 2026.