Guests to Chicago have two airports to select from: O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD), a sprawling complicated in Chicago’s northwest nook, or Halfway Worldwide Airport (MDW), which provides extra handy entry to the town however with fewer flights.
Completely different airways usually give attention to completely different airports; for instance, Southwest Airways flyers have the very best choice out of Halfway, whereas these flying American Airways, United Airways or internationally will seemingly find yourself at O’Hare. However the two are roughly 30 miles aside — so it is necessary to plan strategically on your wants.
This information examines the professionals and cons of every airport.
Distance to downtown and transportation choices
Chicago stretches north, south, and west, roughly partitioned into thirds by branches of the Chicago River. O’Hare is within the far northwest of the town, whereas Halfway sits deep within the Southwest Facet.
The Loop is Chicago’s central downtown enterprise district. Utilizing the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park, also referred to as “the Bean,” as our reference level, we measured the space from every airport. The Bean is 2 blocks south of the river and inside strolling distance of Navy Pier, Museum Campus and the Magnificent Mile procuring district.
Here is how the 2 airports stack up:
Getting downtown | O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) | Halfway Airport (MDW) |
---|---|---|
Distance (by automotive) | 18 miles | 12.5 miles |
Time (by automotive) | 40-60 minutes | 30-40 minutes |
Estimated Uber price | $45 | $30 |
Public transit | CTA Blue Line | CTA Orange Line |
Since O’Hare has a number of terminals, it’d take 5 to 10 minutes to get out and in of the airport space. No matter timing, you are more likely to encounter rush hour visitors en path to O’Hare all through most mornings and evenings. Subsequently, I might plan for 45 minutes to an hour to get downtown from O’Hare. Cabs cost a flat rate to go downtown — round $40 — whereas ride-hailing companies can price wherever between $35 and $60.
The most cost effective choice is taking the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line rail, obtainable from Terminals 1, 2 or 3 or through a free airport shuttle from Terminal 5. Journey time is about 50 minutes to an hour, relying on the time of day. Nevertheless, when you have plenty of checked baggage, a cab could also be advisable, because the trains don’t have baggage racks and a number of the stations are solely accessible through stairs.
Halfway, then again, is roughly half-hour from The Loop and customarily much less susceptible to visitors delays than O’Hare — however I might nonetheless count on to come across some visitors. That is very true should you’re touring on a Sunday when the Chicago Bears are enjoying at Soldier Discipline. Interstate 55 runs previous the sector en path to the airport and can get backed up. You may as well take the Orange Line to downtown or think about an Uber or Lyft for about $30 or a cab for $35 to $40.
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Winner: No matter how you propose on touring to the town from the airport, Halfway comes out forward — much less visitors, shorter drives, cheaper Ubers and fewer time spent on the practice should you’re headed downtown. Vacationers to different Chicago neighborhoods or the suburbs might really feel otherwise, although. For instance, these headed to northwest neighborhoods may discover O’Hare extra handy — even when the visitors provides an undesirable headache when attending to or from the airport.
Airways and flight choices
With regards to airways, O’Hare and Halfway couldn’t be extra completely different. In accordance with OAG’s 2024 annual report of the world’s busiest airports, O’Hare was the Tenth-busiest airport in 2024. Per knowledge sourced by analytics agency Cirium, 735,881 planes departed from ORD in 2024.
O’Hare additionally stands out amongst U.S. airports as a significant hub for 2 completely different airways, United and American. Southwest Airways began flying out of O’Hare in 2021 as properly, including to the aggressive combine.
Halfway bought 26.6 million seats throughout 166,453 departures in 2024, per Cirium. Southwest stays the dominant provider at Halfway with 23.5 million seats and almost 150,000 departures in 2024, adopted by Frontier (1.4 million seats and seven,785 departures), Volaris (689,694 seats and three,775 departures), Delta Air Strains (642,784 seats and seven,054 departures) and Porter (131,742 seats and 1,689 departures).
Of the almost 94 million seats bought out of O’Hare in 2024, United served 44 million throughout greater than 352,000 departures, adopted by American (28.1 million seats and 255,061 departures), Spirit (3.6 million seats and 17,816 departures), Delta (3.5 million seats and 27,476 departures) and Southwest (2.2 million seats and 13,687 departures). United is the clear winner amongst U.S. carriers that fly internationally.
With regards to worldwide flights, ORD has a number of notable carriers working from the airport to locations world wide, together with:
- Aeromexico
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- Air France
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- Alaska Airways
- ANA
- Avianca Airways
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Finnair
- ITA Airways
- Iberia
- Icelandair
- Japan Airways
- JetBlue
- KLM
- LOT Polish Airways
- Lufthansa
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Jordanian Airways
- Swiss
- Scandinavian Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
- Turkish Airways
Irrespective of the place on this planet you are heading, there is a good likelihood you may fly straight from O’Hare.
Halfway, then again, is a key a part of Southwest’s community, which operates an amazing majority of the flights out of the airport. Delta Air Strains — which has a comparatively small presence at O’Hare — is another of the seven airlines to function from Halfway.
Winner: For AvGeeks and highway warriors, there’s one thing particular about O’Hare. American and United have expansive home route networks and there aren’t many locations you may fly to from Halfway that you could’t fly to from O’Hare. Add within the host of worldwide carriers, and O’Hare seemingly wins for a lot of. Nevertheless, as a neighborhood, I a lot favor Halfway for the shorter commute. With fewer individuals, there appear to be fewer issues, and this creates a neater, extra nice airport expertise general.
Airport facilities and perks
In my view, neither airport is a spot I like spending extra time than I’ve to, however others might disagree.
The sprawl of runways and terminals at O’Hare usually results in lengthy taxi occasions and random delays. Plus, it lacks a lot of the high-end procuring yow will discover at newer and worldwide airports. Nonetheless, there are some nice lounges at O’Hare.
It is also price noting that the airport is at present present process a 10-year major modernization project that can add 19 new gates to its current Concourse C. The O’Hare 21 Terminal Space Plan consists of two satellite tv for pc concourses, a brand new O’Hare World Terminal (changing Terminal 2) and an underground tunnel connecting the brand new amenities. Building is predicted to be accomplished in 2028.
An apparent win for O’Hare is the town being house to the United HQ, which makes the airport the plain selection for United flyers. Consequently, yow will discover 4 United Golf equipment and the nation’s first revamped Polaris Lounge. In 2024, I visited the entire United Golf equipment and the high-end Polaris Lounge. The 4 United Golf equipment are comparatively comparable, various minimally in dimension, design and newness. The latest club, which opened in 2023, boasts loads of pure gentle and house for vacationers in Terminal 1.
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Polaris Lounge at ORD. CAROLINE TANNER/THE POINTS GUY
The Polaris Lounge is lush, with personal shaded daybed leases atop 145-degree heated Saks Fifth Avenue linens, showers and heat towels upon checking in. Plus, it is the one Polaris within the nation with a chandelier, the place each ball represents a metropolis road in Chicago. The Polaris Lounge is throughout from the duty-free retailer, accessible to worldwide clients touring in United Polaris and premium Star Alliance cabins.
United Club℠ Infinite Card holders ($525 annual charge) obtain limitless complimentary United Membership entry for themselves and as much as two company per go to. In the meantime, the United℠ Explorer Card consists of two single-use United Membership passes yearly. You may as well pay for a United Membership membership with both money or miles, with costs various by United Premier elite status level.
O’Hare additionally has three American Airways Admirals Golf equipment and one American Airlines Flagship Lounge, all in Terminal 3.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
In our expertise, there’s often room to take a seat down and seize a chunk to eat. The food and drinks choice is fundamental, however you will not go hungry with a choice of chilly cuts, soups and different snacks.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
These with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) obtain complimentary Admirals Membership entry, as do Concierge Key members.
The one different free strategy to entry a membership is by holding an eligible premium ticket, particularly business- and first-class tickets on worldwide American- or Oneworld-operated and home flagship-ticketed flights for particular routes.
In any other case, AAdvantage members pays for entry in numerous methods, ranging in value from $550 to $650, relying on their standing degree.
No matter the way you achieve entry to the Admirals Membership, vacationers should current a same-day American, JetBlue or different Oneworld provider boarding go to take action, excluding lifetime Admirals Membership members (who’ve lifetime entry, because the title suggests).
The Flagship Lounge is a step above with fewer crowds, devoted service desks and nice views of the airport.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
You will additionally discover an elevated choice of meals and drinks with buffet-style dishes specified by an enormous unfold.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
O’Hare additionally has a Delta Sky Membership, certainly one of our favorites in the system. This lounge has greater than 22,000 sq. ft of house, showers, nice views of the airport and Delta jets and two bars. There’s even a Chicago-style sizzling canine vendor.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Associated: Delta unveils Sky Club and Terminal 5 gates at Chicago’s O’Hare airport
Our favourite characteristic of this membership is that it additionally has two boarding gates! One is used for flights to its hub at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and the opposite is for worldwide Delta companions like Air France.
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CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Prime-tier Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion members can redeem Selection Advantages for a Delta Sky Club membership, whereas any Delta standing holder pays money or redeem miles for a Delta Sky Membership membership.
Some premium bank cards present complimentary lounge entry, and there are additionally quite a lot of paid choices to enter a Sky Membership, as long as you aren’t flying fundamental financial system.
For instance, The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card all present complimentary entry for same-day Delta-operated flights or Delta-marketed WestJet flights, excluding Delta basic economy or equal companion fares.
As of Feb. 1, 2025, Delta has capped Sky Membership visits yearly (Feb. 1 to Jan. 31) to 10 visits for Amex Platinum and Amex Enterprise Platinum and 15 visits for Delta Reserve Amex and Delta Reserve Enterprise Amex cardholders.
Lastly, there is a Swissport Lounge in Terminal 5 accessible through the Precedence Cross. This lounge is skippable, in my view — we peeked in, and the lounge was fairly sad-looking..
Lastly, a lounge at Halfway
As of September, Midway has its first lounge after 96 years of existence. The Membership MDW is in Concourse B and is open each day from 4 a.m. till 10 p.m. for all vacationers. It is a part of the Priority Pass network; non-Precedence Cross members also can entry the membership for $50 each day.
The Membership MDW is definitely a welcome addition after almost 100 years. I might count on capability points over time, although, as I discovered it very crowded on a current go to, with few locations to take a seat.
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Inside of The Membership MDW. CAROLINE TANNER/THE POINTS GUY
Winner: Though most of O’Hare’s lounges are off-limits except you are flying in a premium cabin or maintain top-tier elite standing, there are at the very least a range to select from. The addition of Halfway’s inaugural lounge might encourage vacationers to get to the airport sooner than they’d have beforehand, nevertheless — and I think the Membership will work out its preliminary kinks in time.
Backside line
After almost three years in Chicago, I’ve a love-hate relationship with O’Hare, regardless of my rising allegiance to United. However the annoyance I really feel each time I order an Uber to or from O’Hare is unmatched, as I anticipate invariable visitors.
Since I primarily flew Southwest growing up, I’ve at all times had a comfortable spot in my coronary heart for the airline and, thus, Halfway.
In the event you’re flying internationally or you’re loyal to United or American, you may be flying out of O’Hare. But when Southwest is an efficient choice for home journey, the often-overlooked Halfway is price being attentive to.
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