Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is one of two major commercial airports in the Chicago area. Located about 10 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, the airport has five runways and one terminal with 43 gates and three concourses.
Southwest Airlines
has the largest market share at Midway. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, there are 14,245 flights scheduled to and from the airport this month. Of those, 12,475 are Southwest flights or 87% of the market share.
Southwest operates the ten longest routes at Midway without competition. All of them are to the West Coast, to cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The first non-Southwest Airlines route is to Guadalajara, Mexico.
Volaris, a Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier, operates daily flights to Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara. The flight is 1,724 miles and blocked out at four hours.
Top five
The longest flight at Midway is to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Southwest operates the flight ten times weekly and deploys three different variants on the 1,854-mile route. Because of Southwest’s point-to-point model, the aircraft it uses in each direction changes. See the table below:
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
San Francisco |
Boeing 737-700 |
25 |
Chicago Midway |
San Francisco |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
18 |
San Francisco |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
30 |
San Francisco |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
9 |
San Francisco |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
4 |
The second-longest route is to an airport just a few miles away from San Francisco. In fact, due to recent changes, San Francisco is now part of the airport name. The flight to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, formerly Oakland International Airport, is ten miles shorter than the flight to SFO.
The flight to Oakland is operated twice daily. Like the route to San Francisco, Southwest operates three aircraft variants to Oakland.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Oakland |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
43 |
Chicago Midway |
Oakland |
Boeing 737-700 |
17 |
Oakland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
26 |
Oakland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
21 |
Oakland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
13 |
Continuing with San Francisco area airports, we come to the third-longest route from Midway. Number three is just six miles shorter than number two. The flight to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) is 1,838 miles long. This flight is operated 13 times weekly by two variants of Southwest’s 737s in each direction.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
San Jose |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
51 |
Chicago Midway |
San Jose |
Boeing 737-700 |
5 |
San Jose |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
39 |
San Jose |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
17 |
The fourth route is not much shorter than the flight to San Jose, but it is the first non-San Francisco area airport on the list. Sacramento International Airport (SMF), located in the California capital, has about 20 weekly Southwest flights from Midway.
Photo: V_E | Shutterstock
The flight is 1,790 miles and has all three variants in Southwest’s fleet used for those operations.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Sacramento |
Boeing 737-700 |
48 |
Chicago Midway |
Sacramento |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
33 |
Sacramento |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
54 |
Sacramento |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
21 |
Sacramento |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
6 |
The fifth-longest route is the first to an airport outside of California. Like with Sacramento, Southwest operates this route about 20 times weekly, using all of its aircraft. The flight to Portland International Airport (PDX), one of Alaska Airlines’ primary airports, is 1,751 miles long.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Portland |
Boeing 737-800 |
47 |
Chicago Midway |
Portland |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
34 |
Portland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
40 |
Portland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
25 |
Portland |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
16 |
Five through ten
The sixth-longest route is back in California, to the busiest airport in the state. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is crucial to Southwest’s operations in California and has the sixth-longest route from Midway. The flight to LAX is operated about 28 times weekly, with all variants in the Southwest fleet.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Los Angeles |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
112 |
Chicago Midway |
Los Angeles |
Boeing 737-700 |
6 |
Los Angeles |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
85 |
Los Angeles |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
29 |
Los Angeles |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
5 |
The Los Angeles area has five commercial airports that receive Southwest service. Of those, three are connected to Midway. Long Beach Airport (LGB), located just 21 miles from LAX, is the seventh-longest route. The 1,741-mile flight to Long Beach is operated by just two aircraft variants.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Long Beach |
Boeing 737-800 |
25 |
Chicago Midway |
Long Beach |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
9 |
Long Beach |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
21 |
Long Beach |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
13 |
As mentioned above, three Los Angeles area airports are connected to Midway. The last of them is Hollywood Burbank International Airport (BUR). Southwest operates this flight almost daily in September, deploying its 737-700s. The flight to Burbank is just one mile shorter than the one to Long Beach.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Burbank |
Boeing 737-700 |
29 |
Burbank |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
29 |
Photo: Seattle – Tacoma International Airport
An airport all the way in the Northwest corner of the lower 48 in the US has the ninth-longest route. THe flight to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is 1,733 miles long. Southwest uses two aircraft variants from Chicago and three from Seattle.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
Seattle |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
76 |
Chicago Midway |
Seattle |
Boeing 737-700 |
9 |
Seattle |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
54 |
Seattle |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
18 |
Seattle |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
13 |
Rounding out the top ten is one more California airport. The flight to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is 1,728-miles long. Southwest uses all of its variants for an average of about 25 weekly flights.
Origin |
Destination |
Aircraft type |
Number of flights |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Midway |
San Diego |
Boeing 737-700 |
62 |
Chicago Midway |
San Diego |
Boeing 737-800 |
22 |
Chicago Midway |
San Diego |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
19 |
San Diego |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-700 |
51 |
San Diego |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737-800 |
30 |
San Diego |
Chicago Midway |
Boeing 737 MAX 8 |
22 |