Appleton to Chicago

What the Data Says About ATW to ORD

The Appleton to Chicago corridor (ATW → ORD) covers roughly 160 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 7,968 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 86.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,214 flights were recorded on this pairing — 111 cancelled (2.6%) and 2 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 7,968 total flights analyzed, the 78.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 86.8-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 82% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 20-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ATW to ORD route, the combination of a 78.4% on-time rate, 86.8-minute average delay, 2.6% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.