JetSetAuthority

Route · United States and Canada

IAH Houston ⇄ ORD Chicago

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (United States) and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (United States): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance1,491 km926 mi805 nautical miles
IAH → ORD2 h 40 minestimated block time
ORD → IAH2 h 50 minestimated block time
Clock change±0 hChicago vs Houston, today
Great-circle route from Houston (IAH) to Chicago (ORD)IAHHoustonORDChicago
The shortest path over the Earth’s surface (great circle), drawn on a Natural Earth projection. Real flight paths bend around weather, winds and closed airspace.

Flight time each way

IAH → ORD

2 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 25° (NNE).

Leave Houston Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Chicago Sat 7 Nov, 12:40 local.

ORD → IAH

2 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 209° (SSW).

Leave Chicago Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Houston Sat 7 Nov, 12:50 local.

The two directions differ by 9 minutes in our estimate: this route runs mostly north–south, so the prevailing westerly winds make little difference. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance1,491 km · 926 mi · 805 nmi
Initial heading25° (NNE) from IAH; 209° (SSW) from ORD
Farthest from the equator42.0°N
Crossesneither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip7% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

IAHAmerica/Chicago — UTC−5 now; UTC−6 standard time, UTC−5 during daylight saving time
ORDAmerica/Chicago — UTC−5 now; UTC−6 standard time, UTC−5 during daylight saving time
DifferenceChicago is on the same clock as Houston today.

Jet lag, flying IAH → ORD. No time-zone change, so no jet lag from the clock — only the usual tiredness of travel.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

IAH George Bush Intercontinental AirportHouston, United States · longest runway 12,001 ft3,658 m ORD Chicago O'Hare International AirportChicago, United States · longest runway 13,000 ft3,962 m

More routes from IAH and ORD

DFWIAH Dallas–Fort Worth – Houston 362 km225 mi · 1 h 25 min IAHMEX Houston – Mexico City 1,232 km765 mi · 2 h 30 min IAHCUN Houston – Cancún 1,307 km812 mi · 2 h 30 min IAHLHR Houston – London 7,763 km4,824 mi · 9 h 15 min IAHFRA Houston – Frankfurt 8,402 km5,221 mi · 9 h 55 min IAHSYD Houston – Sydney 13,836 km8,597 mi · 17 h 25 min ORDMSP Chicago – Minneapolis 537 km334 mi · 1 h 45 min JFKORD New York – Chicago 1,188 km738 mi · 2 h 35 min ORDMCO Chicago – Orlando 1,620 km1,007 mi · 2 h 50 min SEAORD Seattle – Chicago 2,762 km1,716 mi · 3 h 55 min ORDLHR Chicago – London 6,344 km3,942 mi · 7 h 45 min ORDICN Chicago – Seoul 10,519 km6,536 mi · 13 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

LHRBUD London – Budapest 1,489 km926 mi · 2 h 35 min EWRMCO Newark – Orlando 1,511 km939 mi · 2 h 50 min CDGLIS Paris – Lisbon 1,470 km913 mi · 2 h 50 min LHRWAW London – Warsaw 1,469 km913 mi · 2 h 35 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).