Chicago has one of the largest airports in the world and is a central hub for numerous different airlines. Because of the size of the airports in Chicago, it is not that difficult to find a reasonable rate on air fare. Each year, 86 million passengers fly in and out of Chicago which equals out to about 235,000 people a day. In the Chicago area, there are a few different airports; however, the two biggest ones that the majority of people travel into and out of are:

  • O’Hare International Airport: With an average of 69.3 million passengers a year, O’Hare International is the larger of the two airports. It acts as the central hub for United Airlines and one of a few hubs for American Airlines. The airport has four terminals. One through three are their domestic terminals while the fourth (terminal five) is the international. They had a terminal four that was their interim international until 1993 when terminal five replaced it.
  • Chicago Midway International Airport: With an average of 17.3 million passengers a year, Chicago Midway is the smaller of the two airports. The airport is closer to the city than O’Hare and has a direct connection using the L train into the city. This airport is where most passengers who are flying on Southwest Airlines will depart and return from because it is a central hub for that airline.

When travelling internationally, it pays to fly out of O’Hare International Airport. The reason for this is because they have much more volume, so they can use larger airplanes. The use of larger airplanes means that there is less gas needed per passenger and therefore, they are able to reduce the price in tickets to pass the savings onto the consumer. The smaller the airport one flies out, therefore, the higher the cost of airline tickets.

The downfall to flying out of O’Hare is the least punctual airport in the United States. With O’Hare becoming the second largest airport in the United States, this can cause considerable number of delays. Fortunately for O’Hare, they have implemented a modernization program that will enhance their current runways, add more runways, and make it so that more planes can land and take off per hour. Even an additional twenty planes landing in an hour can cut back on severe delays, something that O’Hare is notorious for.