waypoints.now
waypoints / 🇺🇸 US / Austin – Chicago Timings are not live · Documented
Route · US

Austin to Chicago

2 operators run this water, from 2 h 27 to 2 h 28 — a difference of 1 min on the same crossing.

Every way across

One row per operator and speed. Where a service is sold as fast and its average does not clear 45 km/h, the word appears in quotation marks — the boat is fast craft, the crossing is not.

AirTran Airways, Southwest Airlines AUS → MDW 1565 km non-stop 73W in the air 3 h 57 est. rate not held 637 km/h average
American Airlines, US Airways AUS → ORD 1575 km non-stop 319 320 739 in the air 3 h 58 est. rate not held 638 km/h average

Other ways to reach Chicago

If this crossing does not suit, these quays also reach Chicago without a change. It is the question a single-route page cannot answer about itself and an atlas can.

Milwaukee – Chicago 38 min American Airlines
South Bend – Chicago 40 min United Airlines
Madison – Chicago 43 min American Airlines
Bloomington/Normal – Chicago 44 min American Airlines
Muskegon – Chicago 44 min United Airlines
Kalamazoo – Chicago 45 min American Airlines
Grand Rapids – Chicago 46 min American Airlines
Peoria – Chicago 46 min American Airlines
Savoy – Chicago 46 min American Airlines
Moline – Chicago 47 min American Airlines

And other ways to reach Austin

Houston – Austin 47 min AirTran Airways, United Airlines
Taylor Amtrak – Austin 51 min Amtrak
Dallas – Austin 53 min AirTran Airways
Dallas-Fort Worth – Austin 53 min AirTran Airways
Harlingen – Austin 1 h 03 AirTran Airways
Lubbock – Austin 1 h 11 Southwest Airlines
New Orleans – Austin 1 h 23 AirTran Airways
El Paso – Austin 1 h 34 AirTran Airways
Memphis – Austin 1 h 37 Delta Air Lines

Where else these quays go

Which months this runs

Season not heldwe can say when we looked, not which months run

Our records for the Austin–Chicago crossing were read on 11 August 2026 and describe the network as it ran that week. We hold no month-by-month variation, so this page cannot tell you whether a crossing runs in February.

If you are travelling well outside August 2026, confirm with the operator before you plan around it.

What we do not know

No fares. The choice between AirTran Airways at 2 h 27 and American Airlines at 2 h 28 is mostly a price decision, and we hold no prices for either.

No departure times. No rate is held for this pair either, so we cannot say how often it runs.