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Cheap Flights from Kansas City to Illinois

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 5 days
Sort by: Cheapest
Chicago
1h 20mNonstop
from $237per person
Moline
4h 05m2 stops
from $439per person
Decatur
Decatur
6h 43m2 stops
from $504per person
Booking Insights

Price, demand and travel trends for Kansas City to Illinois flights

Use KAYAK data on prices, travel dates, airlines and seasonal trends to compare options and book flights with more confidence.

What are the cheapest fares from Kansas City to Illinois recently?

The cheapest fares from Kansas City to Illinois on KAYAK in the last week were to Chicago O'Hare Intl (ORD) from $237 round-trip and to Chicago Midway (MDW) from $259 round-trip.

How do fares into airports in Illinois compare?

According to KAYAK data from the last 12 months, the cheapest airports to fly into Illinois from Kansas City are:

• Moline Quad-City (MLI) (avg. price $348)
• Chicago Midway (MDW) (avg. price $360)
• Chicago O'Hare Intl (ORD) (avg. price $367)

Are flights from Kansas City to Illinois cheaper or more expensive than last year?

Fares from Kansas City to Illinois are about 13% higher than they were in November last year, averaging $349 round-trip.

What's the cheapest month to fly from Kansas City to Illinois?

April is typically the cheapest month to fly from Kansas City to Illinois, with round-trip fares averaging $334. July and June are usually the most expensive, averaging $408 and $407, respectively.

How do fares from Kansas City to Illinois vary by day of the week?

On average, Thursday is the cheapest day to fly from Kansas City to Illinois and Monday is the most expensive. Looking at the past 12 months of KAYAK data, it's 24% more expensive to fly on a Monday compared to Thursday.

What's the best time of day to fly from Kansas City to Illinois?

It's cheapest to fly to Illinois at night with average prices of $143. The afternoon is the most expensive time to fly, with average prices of $385.

What's the best time to book a flight from Kansas City to Illinois?

Book your flights 16 weeks before your trip. KAYAK data collected over the past 12 months shows that booking in this window can save you around 46% compared to booking at the last minute (within 2 weeks of departure).

Key details for Kansas City to Illinois flights

Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$123
Beat the crowds with an average 32% drop in travelers.
The most popular month to fly with an average 23% increase in travelers.
One-way flight from Kansas City to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport

Your Kansas City to Illinois flight questions, answered

Find helpful answers about this route, including flight times, airports, airlines and booking tips.

  • Is now a good time to book a flight from Kansas City to Illinois?

    Yes. Fares from Kansas City to Illinois are low right now. As a rule of thumb, a round-trip under $305 (cheaper than most fares this year) is a good deal, so if you spot one at or below that, it's a good time to book.

  • How much should I budget for a flight from Kansas City to Illinois?

    Over the past 12 months, round-trip fares from Kansas City to Illinois have typically cost between $305 and $474.

  • What are the main airports serving Illinois?

    There are 17 airports in Illinois. 69% of KAYAK users choose Chicago O'Hare Intl (ORD) as their arrival airport, while 31% choose Chicago Midway (MDW).

  • Which airlines fly nonstop from Kansas City to Illinois?

    Based on the flight schedule for the next 3 months, 3 airlines offer nonstop flights on this route:

    • United Airlines
    • American Airlines
    • Southwest

  • Which destinations in Illinois can I fly nonstop from Kansas City?

    Based on the flight schedule for the next 3 months, you can fly nonstop from Kansas City to just one destination in Illinois: Chicago.

  • Is it cheaper to fly with a layover from Kansas City to Illinois?

    Yes, nonstop flights from Kansas City to Illinois average $368 over the past 12 months. Flights with a layover can cost less, cheapest when connecting through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) (avg. price $211) or Denver Intl (DEN) (avg. price $311).

  • How long is a flight from Kansas City to Illinois?

    Nonstop flights from Kansas City to Illinois take 1h 44m on average. The fastest scheduled flight takes 1h 20m, flying into Chicago Midway (MDW).

  • Which cabin classes are available from Kansas City to Illinois?

    On flights from Kansas City to Illinois you can book Economy Class or First Class.

  • What are some popular landmarks around Illinois?

    Illinois is home to many popular sights. KAYAK travelers' favorites include:

    • Magnificent Mile
    • Grant Park
    • Soldier Field
    • River North

  • What are the earliest and latest flights from Kansas City to Illinois?

    The earliest nonstop flight from Kansas City to Illinois departs at 5:04 am and the latest leaves at 10:15 pm. Nonstop flights take about 1h 44m.

Your guide to booking Kansas City to Illinois flights

Get tips on when to book, when to fly and what to know before your trip.
  • If you can plan ahead, the sweet spot for booking your flight is 16 weeks before your trip. KAYAK data shows fares in this window are around 46% lower than last-minute bookings (made within 2 weeks of departure). Not ready to commit? Set a Price Alert and we'll let you know when prices change.
  • Flexible with your dates? Fly in April to save some money. It's typically the cheapest month on this route, while flights in July will cost you the most.
  • Fly out on a Thursday to get the cheapest fares. Avoid Monday flights, which are about 24% more expensive.
  • If you're watching your budget, fly into Moline Quad-City (MLI) which has the lowest average airfare in the region. Just remember to budget for any onward travel by bus, car or domestic flight.
  • Start your trip in Chicago, the most popular destination in Illinois. From there, it's easy to continue on to other popular spots such as Rosemont, Schaumburg and Champaign.
  • Time or money? If speed matters most, fly from Kansas City to Chicago Midway (MDW). If you're after the lowest fares, Moline Quad-City (MLI) is usually your best bet.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Kansas City to Illinois

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Kansas City to Illinois? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4220 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
7.0Food
Airline reviews

Over a 3 hour flight. The turbulence was almost imperceptible except for 2 short periods which were not bad and over quickly. The attendants claimed "Safety first" and sat looking at their phones for 3 hours with no drink or snack service. This isn't the first time with Southwest. I thinkit may be there new plan of operation. Oh, and it was June 18, Southwest's Birthday which offered free drinks. NOT.

4.0 OkayJeff, Jun 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

Over a 3 hour flight. The turbulence was almost imperceptible except for 2 short periods which were not bad and over quickly. The attendants claimed "Safety first" and sat looking at their phones for 3 hours with no drink or snack service. This isn't the first time with Southwest. I thinkit may be there new plan of operation. Oh, and it was June 18, Southwest's Birthday which offered free drinks. NOT.

The flight was okay. The pilots did an amazing job and kept us updated on the flight. The flight attendants were okay. They found time to be chatty with each other rather than focus on the guests. One of the attendants was a little less warm when asking about my bag I had on my lap that I was using during latter part of the mid- flight. Mind you, it was not the departure descent. I’m respectful to each and every attendant, it was the tone in her voice reminding me to place my carryon bag on the floor. I hope to have a better experience next time.

Pretty seamless, just a tad bit late in taking off and landing.

Everything a cheap airline should be at normal airline rates.

Delays delays delays. Late taking off, late landing, wait for a gate, etc.

Multiple delays and gate changes. Arrived at final destination 6 hours late. All rental cars had been taken.

Crew was pleasant; flight was on time. Paid extra for early bird check-in and still got B boarding.

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

Crew was great - friendly and helpful with boarding - letting folks know where overhead space was available thus getting us out of the gate on time.

Captain Scott and FO Brandon were outstanding as was the entire flight attendant crew. I wish they were on every flight!

Requested for warm or hot water because of throat pain, it was denied. The entertainment system was hung, requested the crew to turn it off, instead of turning it off they rebooted the device. It was stuck again, no one bothered to check.

A couple flight attendants in business class had bad attitudes and provided poor service. They did provide drinks or refill drinks. They talked to certain passengers for long periods of time and ignored others.

Great Brasilia aircraft - not a Boeing 757 like the next part of the flight. Flight from MCI to IAD was great, on-time, comfortable, did I mention that? The flight from IAD to EDI was painful. One of the reasons I won't fly United again? Boeing 757, with a seat pitch and material that was horrendous. Worst aircraft ever, made worse by United sardine-can tight seating. Oh, and the connection window, 45 minutes, really? At IAD, in different concourses? What idiot came up with that flight scenario? Happily, (for me and my travel insurance people) the flight was late (reminiscent of American Airlines). The crew was professional and courteous.

On boarding crew at the airport called in the boarding numbers too early meaning before the previous line was completed resulting in later numbers getting to board ahead. Also she asked those who boarded from number 3 to have the tags in their carry-on bags and leave it in the jet bridge. Most of the overhead bins were empty though. This is more work for the ground staff in addition to more inconvenience for passengers waiting to get their carry-ons from the jet bridge.

The flight to America was freezing. The overnight flight back to the UK was boiling hot and the cabin stank of toilet or occasionally perfume, even though I was several rows back from either bathroom. Food was tiny portions. Two small pieces of tough and dry beef in random gravy with pretend mashed potato raking up most of it. Very little veg. Salad was ok. Wooden cutlery broke within minutes of using. Lots of old films for entertainment. Some new ones. Generally a bit rubbish.

I almost missed my connection in Chicago due to having to wait on a gate to be open I am assuming. Having to run from E terminal to C terminal and I barely made it there before they closed the door. This may not be the actual airline's fault it's crazy how there is so little time between flight especially when they are placed so far apart in the airport.

Fine not above and beyond as I had a connection that was delayed due to maintenance

Flight was delayed only slightly before takeoff due to traffic control. However, the flight arrived early to ORD. Good flight. United has been very reliable for me.

Boarding was quick and efficient. My screen didn’t come on and everyone else had theirs working so a little bummer but it was a short flight!

They makes us feel confident on the flight. There was no any cancelation and they are really helpful with us.

Flight was canceled after 5 hours of delays sitting at the airport

I’m still in Boston and I was supposed to be home yesterday at 2:30pm

Fort Lauderdale doesn't have Priority Security line so why was such option available for purchase? I need a refund back

1/2 full flight, nice and comfy flight. On time, good service

Both ways the people in the rear section of the plane were forced to check their carry on bags. I would understand this if the size and number of bags were not limited, but I do not understand why there is not room for one small overhead bag per person, even if the flight is full. I could watch the baggage handlers loading the extra luggage from my window and I’m pretty sure mine wouldn’t have survived undamaged, even though it is new and sturdy.

Entertainment, clean plane and funny pilot over the intercom was excellent… however, gate agent was rude and was probably a Spirit employee before they went bankrupt… there were 3 flight attendants - 2 of them didn’t want to be there the other one was kind and nice… I want you to recognize how you have to compete with Delta or South West airlines or even American Airlines which would choose over you at any given day from here on out. Please treat people respectfully. If you hate working in this industry - go and work somewhere else. The flight was very empty and it shouldn’t be hard to crack a smile once in a while. Very disappointing… I remember flying Jet Blue back in the day from Dulles IAD to LAX and you guys were super cool and fancy and made flying fun again - truly elevated the experience. Don’t become the next most hated airline… you can do better . I want you to succeed…

Free wifi was almost impossible to get, kept dropping the connection

Not good - we boarded and taxied for an hour before they told us there were technical issues with the plane. They told us we were going to need to deplane, parked back at the gate but then didn’t tell us we didn’t have to anymore. There was just a lot of uncertainties with poor communication.

Jet Blue cancelled my flight after I had boarded. They attempted to rebook me for a new flight two days later. I was able to rebook with a different airline, but not until the next morning. As such, I was forced to get an expensive hotel and missed important work meetings Monday morning. I am very disappointed with the customer service and will be pursuing full reimbursement for my hotel cost.

I volunteered to let them put my carry on suitcase in the baggage storage area. But when we landed I was told it was being unloaded IN A DIFFERENT TERMINAL! I had to walk (painful for me) a long way to retrieve my bag and my ride had to move from the waiting area they were in to a totally different one. Not happy.

All good. Easy check in and boarding. Lovely flight crew

WiFi broken, very long wait for valet bags, and the typical long wait at O'Hare on a thursday to get clearance to take off and then again long taxi and wait for the gate.

The plane was delayed after we boarded - although they sent an email to my work email (which I did not get until later) there was no announcement from the PA about the delay in flight. Fortunately, they made up the time in the air and we landed around the original time.

My luggage is missing. I haven’t received it. No one seems to know how I can find it

My luggage was not sent with us. Not sure if this is Envoy Air responsibility but that was a very BAD experience

The wifi experience is awful. I had to try again and again, taking over 30 minutes, to connect to the wifi. I had to watch the same two ads over and over until I was finally successful. Once connected, it was anything but "high speed" and disconnected at least three times during the flight.

I very rarely fly American and my experience today reenforces that is the correct decision. While the staff were all very courteous, our flight was first thing in the morning so there was no reason to be delayed, yet appropriate maintenance checks weren’t completed prior to our flight so we were delayed multiple times. Not a great showing, American Airlines.

This was the best 2 flights I have had with American out of SGF. Great crew both flights.

More room. International flight - by the time you put your purse and shoes under the seat in front of you, add in the pillow and blanket they give you- makes for tight fit.

The CX617 from HK to BKK was delayed more than 1.5 hours.

Maximizing profits is one way to a healthy bottom line, the other is repeat business and referrals from satisfied customers. Frontier has clearly chosen the former. One of many examples: Family emergency required me to cut trip short. Headed to the airport to fly standby for the return trip I had already paid for (yes I understand prices vary with demand etc). Was told there is no standby and that I would need to pay for, despite what it's called by the company, what amounts to a new ticket. And surprise surprise, there turned out to be dozens of empty seats on that flight. To say nothing of the sleazy third and fourth party resellers, the flight/ticket insurance I elected and thought I had paid for that mysteriously wasn't there when I needed it before I left, and on and on with third world sleazy management decisions. The inflight coffee (that I had to pay for) was very good though.

Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

Good for a budget airline! It was easy to get on, staff was really nice. Can’t say anything about the food or entertainment because it wasn’t available, which is fine.

This company socks. It's fraud. They canceled our flight yesterday, and today we were late because of a really long line at the check in bag. At the rebook station, there was ton of people. The workers were all rude. I am gonna make a report to FTC.

The single worst check in experience I could imagine. I’ll never do any business with Frontier or any affiliated company

Too many extra fees, uncomfortable, little leg room. Will not recommend this airline.

Severe turbulence. Captain never came on to reassure passengers after things settled down.

We were delayed three times ,and that destroyed my plans, and reservations

The crew was delayed because they came on another flight that was delayed due to weather 10pm flight left at 1.30 am The airline made no effort to align alternate crew

More options for your flight from Kansas City to Illinois

Complete your trip to Illinois with a hotel stay or car rental