Route profile
MDW→LAS
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Chicago to Las Vegas, 1,521 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 52% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 8,728 flights. How this is calculated
MDW → LAS arrives on time 76.5% of the time; the return trip, LAS → MDW, arrives on time 77.3% of the time.
MDW → LAS spends 20.4 minutes on the ground on a 1,521-mile trip: 14.2 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at MDW and 6.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at LAS.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 91% of 4,023 comparable routes.
90.5% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 59.8% for 9 PM–5 AM.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where MDW to LAS differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
MDW to LAS struggles most at 10 PM: 58.8% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 11.3 points behind the 70.1% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 12.9 points.
MDW to LAS is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 6 AM: 93.1% arrive on time, 2.9 points ahead of the 90.2% those routes manage at that hour.
Friday is the day MDW to LAS slips furthest against routes of similar length, 73.5% on time where they average 76.5%, 3 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 2.7 points.
In September, MDW to LAS runs 5.4 points below routes of similar length, 77.0% on time to 82.4%. Against all other routes the gap is 5.4 points.
MDW to LAS against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 10 PM departures | 58.8% | routes of similar length | 70.1% | −11.3 pts | 357 here, 23,575 there |
| Hour: 6 AM departures | 93.1% | routes of similar length | 90.2% | +2.9 pts | 521 here, 114,506 there |
| Weekday: Friday | 73.5% | routes of similar length | 76.5% | −3.0 pts | 1,330 here, 238,646 there |
| Month: September | 77.0% | routes of similar length | 82.4% | −5.4 pts | 717 here, 126,417 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 1,521 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why MDW → LAS flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
MDW → LAS cancelled 91 of 8,728 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 96. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 69.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 139 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 91 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
63 cancellations, 69.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
21 cancellations, 23.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
7 cancellations, 7.7% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
91 coded cancellations were recorded on MDW → LAS; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
43 min late
against a median of 4 min early
Percentiles over 8,728 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at LAS after arriving from MDW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 41% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.4% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.5% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.04% of the time and diverts 0.32% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 8,609 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 43 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 8,728 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
MDW → LAS flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.5% of the time, against 59.8% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 30.7 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 93.3% on time from 511 flights
- 6 AM: 93.1% on time from 525 flights
- 7 AM: 89.7% on time from 674 flights
- 8 AM: 86.5% on time from 566 flights
- 9 AM: 84.6% on time from 608 flights
- 10 AM: 76.4% on time from 283 flights
- 11 AM: 80.0% on time from 526 flights
- 12 PM: 79.9% on time from 578 flights
- 1 PM: 75.0% on time from 448 flights
- 2 PM: 71.1% on time from 344 flights
- 3 PM: 67.4% on time from 457 flights
- 4 PM: 69.6% on time from 433 flights
- 5 PM: 70.8% on time from 542 flights
- 6 PM: 65.9% on time from 455 flights
- 7 PM: 66.2% on time from 309 flights
- 8 PM: 67.2% on time from 601 flights
- 9 PM: 60.0% on time from 483 flights
- 10 PM: 58.8% on time from 365 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why MDW → LAS runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for MDW → LAS. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on MDW → LAS, at 43.5%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 90.5% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 59.8%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 8,156 | 77.0% | 0.96% | -4 min | 6.0% |
| Frontier Airlines | 570 | 69.2% | 2.28% | -3 min | 14.6% |
Southwest Airlines flew 93.5% of the 8,726 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 2.28% of its flights here against 0.96% for Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines arrived on time 7.8 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Chicago to Las Vegas
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD→LAS Chicago to Las Vegas | 16,380 | 76.6% | 1.07% | -6 min | 63 |
| MDW→LAS this route Chicago to Las Vegas | 8,728 | 76.5% | 1.04% | -4 min | 67 |
Flying to LAS from the Chicago area? Compare MDW, ORD for LAS, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 6.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 81.9%
- Feb: 81.0%
- Mar: 74.1%
- Apr: 77.8%
- May: 76.4%
- Jun: 70.2%
- Jul: 65.4%
- Aug: 74.5%
- Sep: 77.0%
- Oct: 81.6%
- Nov: 83.7%
- Dec: 82.1%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 18.3 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 48.5% from 316 flights
- August 2023: 65.6% from 295 flights
- September 2023: 65.4% from 261 flights
- October 2023: 73.0% from 295 flights
- November 2023: 85.2% from 278 flights
- December 2023: 90.2% from 284 flights
- January 2024: 76.9% from 242 flights
- February 2024: 82.5% from 215 flights
- March 2024: 75.8% from 279 flights
- April 2024: 75.7% from 297 flights
- May 2024: 67.4% from 309 flights
- June 2024: 68.5% from 276 flights
- July 2024: 69.4% from 285 flights
- August 2024: 77.0% from 258 flights
- September 2024: 83.6% from 250 flights
- October 2024: 89.7% from 264 flights
- November 2024: 86.6% from 218 flights
- December 2024: 83.8% from 228 flights
- January 2025: 87.8% from 189 flights
- February 2025: 80.7% from 189 flights
- March 2025: 80.6% from 235 flights
- April 2025: 81.0% from 249 flights
- May 2025: 86.6% from 228 flights
- June 2025: 78.6% from 257 flights
- July 2025: 69.2% from 258 flights
- August 2025: 83.3% from 215 flights
- September 2025: 83.3% from 213 flights
- October 2025: 83.3% from 209 flights
- November 2025: 77.4% from 178 flights
- December 2025: 68.1% from 185 flights
- January 2026: 81.9% from 161 flights
- February 2026: 79.0% from 138 flights
- March 2026: 63.9% from 196 flights
- April 2026: 76.8% from 193 flights
- May 2026: 78.6% from 202 flights
- June 2026: 61.5% from 188 flights
- July 2026: 81.9% from 195 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 76.7% against 81.9% in the 12 months before — declining by 5.2 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 8,728 MDW → LAS flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed