Harrisburg to Chicago

What the Data Says About MDT to ORD

The Harrisburg to Chicago corridor (MDT → ORD) covers roughly 594 miles and is served by 25 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,639 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 80.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,475 flights were recorded on this pairing — 40 cancelled (1.6%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 25 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,639 total flights analyzed, the 82.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 80.1-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDT to ORD route, the combination of a 82.8% on-time rate, 80.1-minute average delay, 1.6% recent cancellation rate, and 25 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.