Birmingham to Chicago

What the Data Says About BHM to ORD

The Birmingham to Chicago corridor (BHM → ORD) covers roughly 584 miles and is served by 21 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,672 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 83.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,787 flights were recorded on this pairing — 17 cancelled (1.0%) and 5 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 21 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,672 total flights analyzed, the 81.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 83.2-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 94% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 68% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the BHM to ORD route, the combination of a 81.3% on-time rate, 83.2-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 21 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.