Champaign/Urbana to Chicago

What the Data Says About CMI to ORD

The Champaign/Urbana to Chicago corridor (CMI → ORD) covers roughly 135 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,377 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 86.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,621 flights were recorded on this pairing — 43 cancelled (2.7%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). 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 4,377 total flights analyzed, the 85.1% 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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 66% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CMI to ORD route, the combination of a 85.1% on-time rate, 86.8-minute average delay, 2.7% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.