Chicago to Grand Rapids

What the Data Says About MDW to GRR

The Chicago to Grand Rapids corridor (MDW → GRR) covers roughly 137 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,540 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 59.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,842 flights were recorded on this pairing — 9 cancelled (0.5%) and 1 diverted (0.1%). 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 5,540 total flights analyzed, the 77.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 59.6-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to GRR route, the combination of a 77.7% on-time rate, 59.6-minute average delay, 0.5% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.