Charleston to Chicago

What the Data Says About CHS to ORD

The Charleston to Chicago corridor (CHS → ORD) covers roughly 760 miles and is served by 36 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 7,642 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 78.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,155 flights were recorded on this pairing — 50 cancelled (1.6%) and 6 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 36 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 7,642 total flights analyzed, the 83.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 78.0-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 97% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 70% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CHS to ORD route, the combination of a 83.7% on-time rate, 78.0-minute average delay, 1.6% recent cancellation rate, and 36 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.