HiSky launches nonstop Bucharest–Chicago O’Hare flights after decades without direct link

According to HiSky’s website, the lowest round-trip fare from Chicago starts at approximately $829 for economy class. This fare includes only a cabin bag up to eight kilograms, online check-in (with an additional fee for airport check-in), and limited inflight entertainment. There is no Wi-Fi or charging sockets available onboard, and food does not appear to be included.

Flights will depart Bucharest at 09:00 local time on Thursdays and Sundays, arriving at O’Hare at 12:50 after nearly twelve hours of flight time. Return flights leave Chicago at 14:20 local time and arrive back in Bucharest the following morning at 07:10.

In the year leading up to July 2025, around 18,000 round-trip passengers traveled indirectly between Bucharest and O'Hare—primarily Romanian Americans—making it one of the largest unserved city pairs from Central and Eastern Europe to Chicago. Other cities with more indirect traffic include Prague, Budapest, Sofia, and Vilnius.

Most passengers currently travel via connecting airports such as Warsaw (18% via LOT Polish Airlines), Istanbul (16% via Turkish Airlines), Frankfurt (15% via Lufthansa), Munich (13% via Lufthansa), or London Heathrow (10% via British Airways).

HiSky's booking engine indicates potential connections from Bucharest through Cluj-Napoca and Oradea in Romania; Chișinău in Moldova; and Tel Aviv in Israel. However, some of these options are not yet available during the booking process due to technical issues that may be resolved later.

This new service will be HiSky’s second U.S. route after launching flights between Bucharest and New York JFK in June 2024—a route previously operated by Delta until its discontinuation fifteen years earlier. While HiSky initially offered four weekly JFK flights before increasing frequency during summer peaks, these will reduce to three per week when the Chicago service begins due to limited aircraft availability.

Toronto remains Romania’s largest unserved North American market by passenger volume but adding further long-haul routes appears unlikely unless HiSky acquires additional widebody aircraft.