HiSky Announces Nonstop Flights Between Bucharest and Chicago O’Hare
Romanian airline HiSky has announced that it will begin nonstop flights between Bucharest and Chicago O’Hare starting June 4, 2026. This will be the first time since 1995, when TAROM ceased operations on this route, that the two cities will have a direct connection. The announcement is expected to be featured in the upcoming edition of the Weekly Routes article.
The flight will cover a distance of 4,533 nautical miles (8,395 km) each way, making it O’Hare’s third-longest European service next year. It will only be surpassed in distance by Istanbul and Athens, while Belgrade-Chicago and Chicago-Naples will cover slightly shorter distances.
HiSky will operate the route twice a week using a 274-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The plane has 24 business class seats (2-2-2 configuration, but not fully flat beds) and 250 economy class seats (2-4-2 configuration). The airline currently has only one A330-200, registered as YR-KID, which joined its fleet in December 2023. According to ch-aviation, the aircraft is 15. 2 years old and was previously operated by Sichuan Airlines.
The lowest round-trip fare for economy class seats on this route is approximately USD$829, which is slightly cheaper than most one-stop flights during the summer. However, the longer travel time on connecting flights may offer a better hard product in terms of amenities and services.
Passengers booking the lowest fare will only be allowed a cabin bag weighing a maximum of 8 kg and will have to pay an additional fee for airport check-in. The in-flight entertainment is limited and has been described as “pretty useless. ” There is no Wi-Fi or charging sockets, and it is unlikely that free food will be included in this fare.
The flights will operate on Thursdays and Sundays, departing Bucharest at 09:00 and arriving in Chicago at 12:50 local time. The return flight will depart Chicago at 14:20 and arrive in Bucharest at 07:10 the next day.
According to data from the past 12 months, there were 18,000 round-trip passengers for the Bucharest-O’Hare route, mainly Romanian Americans. The city was the fifth-largest unserved destination in Central and Eastern Europe for O’Hare, after Prague, Budapest, Sofia, and Vilnius. With this new nonstop service, HiSky is expected to tap into the potential of this market and attract more passengers.
HiSky’s booking engine also shows the option to connect to Cluj-Napoca and Oradea in Romania, Chișinău in Moldova, and Tel Aviv in Israel.