Albany to Chicago

What the Data Says About ALB to MDW

The Albany to Chicago corridor (ALB → MDW) covers roughly 717 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,773 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 69.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,394 flights were recorded on this pairing — 14 cancelled (1.0%) and 4 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,773 total flights analyzed, the 84.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 69.4-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 67% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ALB to MDW route, the combination of a 84.8% on-time rate, 69.4-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.