Flights Chicago → Los Angeles
MDW → LAX
How long is the flight from Chicago to Los Angeles?
The flight from Chicago (MDW) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes about 3h 56m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to Los Angeles has a punctuality rate of 66%, with an average delay of 16.9 minutes per flight. With over 292 flights annually, this route connects two major cities and serves the highly trafficked Los Angeles International Airport, which opened in 1926 and handles nearly 76.6 million passengers each year.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Chicago (MDW) → Los Angeles (LAX) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 767 flights monitored in recent months, 64% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 20 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.83%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.6/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Los Angeles: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Los Angeles (LAX) heads west for about 2,812 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 56m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 43% of MDW-LAX flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Los Angeles it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 767 tracked MDW-LAX flights, 64% left on time with an average delay of 20 min and a 1.8% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating MDW-LAX
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-LAX
The flight from Chicago (MDW) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes about 3h 56m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Los Angeles (LAX) route, on-time performance is 64% with an average delay of 20 minutes, based on 767 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Los Angeles is 1.83% across 767 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Los Angeles, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
