| Carrier | serving Madison nonstop from | Airline alliance |
| American Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York-LaGuardia, and St. Louis | One World |
| Continental Airlines | Cleveland and Newark | Sky Team |
| Delta Airlines | Atlanta and Cincinnati | Sky Team |
| Midwest Airlines | Kansas City and Milwaukee | |
| Northwest Airlines | Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, and Washington National Airport | Sky Team |
| United Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare and Denver | Star Alliance |
The only practical transportation from Madison's Dane County Airport to campus is by taxi, which costs about $15 one way to the UW campus. (The city bus requires a change of buses on the way to campus.)
From Chicago O'Hare, take the Van Galder Bus (phone (800) 747-7407, see current schedule) from the (international) Terminal 5 (lower level, gate 5E) and from the Bus/Shuttle Center (in the main parking garage on the street level between terminals 1, 2 and 3). The ride takes about three hours, departs daily every one to two hours between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., and costs $26 one way (with no savings on a round-trip ticket). Get off the bus at the last bus stop, which is UW Memorial Union right on the UW campus.
From Milwaukee airport, catch the Badger Bus (phone (608) 255-6771) outside the baggage claim area (lower level, south end of airport). The ride takes about two hours, departs daily every two and a half hours between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. (with an extra 10 p.m. departure on Sundays during the UW semester), and and costs $17 one way and $30 round trip. Get off the bus at the last bus stop, which is UW Memorial Union right on the UW campus.