- Great circle
- 1,426 km
- 886 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 2h 16m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 42.0°N
- at 0% along
- One lap of Earth
- 3.6%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 224th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From Chicago the path crosses the United States.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 42.0°N, 0% of the way along.
Holding a single compass bearing the whole way would cover almost exactly the same ground, so on this route the flat map and the globe agree.
Leaving Chicago the aircraft points west (266°); it arrives into Denver heading west (255°). That is 11° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
Chicago to Denver, asked and answered
- How far is Chicago to Denver?
- Chicago to Denver (ORD to DEN) is 1,426 km, or 886 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from Chicago to Denver?
- About 2h 16m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.
- What route does a Chicago to Denver flight take?
- The great circle passes over the United States. It reaches 42.0°N at its furthest from the equator.
Where these numbers come from
Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.
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