Houston to Chicago

What the Data Says About IAH to ORD

The Houston to Chicago corridor (IAH → ORD) covers roughly 925 miles and is served by 42 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 27,946 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81% on-time rate with an average delay of 82.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,149 flights were recorded on this pairing — 168 cancelled (1.5%) and 26 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 42 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 27,946 total flights analyzed, the 81% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 82.0-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 58% on-time — a 31-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to ORD route, the combination of a 81% on-time rate, 82.0-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 42 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.