Grand Rapids to Chicago

What the Data Says About GRR to MDW

The Grand Rapids to Chicago corridor (GRR → MDW) covers roughly 137 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,544 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 62.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,843 flights were recorded on this pairing — 8 cancelled (0.4%) and 5 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 5,544 total flights analyzed, the 85.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 62.7-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, May 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Sep 2025 came in at 70% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the GRR to MDW route, the combination of a 85.5% on-time rate, 62.7-minute average delay, 0.4% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.